Happy Ever After
by All About Eric
Summary: Follow-on from Deadlocked. Trying hard to pretend DEA never existed ... let's just see what happens, shall we?
1. Chapter 1

**Ever had the feeling that some things are not quite the way they should be?**

**Did DEA give you a sinking feeling inside?**

**Do you believe that it should have ended differently?**

**Me too.**

**So, with apologies to CH , and as my old teacher used to say, "we're going to do it again, and this time we're going to do it _right!"_**

**Hope you enjoy.**

**AAE**

* * *

It had been a week since I'd heard from Eric.

In some ways it had passed quickly; there was so much to do. Now I was a genuine partner at Merlotte's, Sam wanted me to get even more involved. We spent a lot of time in the office, going over things that I already knew, but I could tell he needed to keep busy. Being busy stopped him thinking about Jannalynn and her betrayal of him, of me, of her pack. Of all of us, really.

We'd discussed the night he'd died, just once, and he'd thanked me for saving his life,even though he had no memory of actually dying. He told me he could remember the shock of the attack, the pain and then nothing but darkness until he woke up the next morning, but even then he didn't mention her name. It reminded me of when Alcide abjured Debbie Pelt - Jannalyn might never have existed as far as Sam was concerned. That afternoon I saw him dropping some stuff into the dumpster out back of the bar and later, when I heaved some old cartons in there, I saw a pair of shoes I knew I'd seen her wearing. I looked a little closer, and there was a hairbrush in there too, and a jacket that seemed familiar...

Then there was my home. Dermot and Claude had gone for good, so I'd hired Terry Bellefleur to come in and finish the improvements in the attic, but while he was up there he'd found some dangerous wiring. Dermot hadn't understood such things, but it turned out the house wasn't up to code, and if I didn't want a fire I'd have to spend some of my hard-earned savings on a complete re-wiring job.

Well, I didn't want a fire (been there, done that) so the floorboards were up, the furniture was mostly in the yard (lucky it was a dry spell) and when I was at home I was kept busy supplying the work crew with cold refreshments. I didn't grudge it them; it was hot as hades up in the attic, but I wished I didn't have to spend my off hours carrying trays of drinks - I did that enough at work.

Jason and Michele's wedding was looming large now, too. I was glad they were keeping it simple. Second time round for both of them, they neither wanted a big affair, but as bridesmaid I knew I had certain duties. My house wasn't in a fit state to host the shower, so I'd borrowed Halleigh and Andy's place. It was big enough, but it had meant a lot of time on the road between my house and Bon Temps.

Halleigh had offered to help, but she was pregnant and the heat was taking it out of her real bad. I know Tara was very happy the twins had arrived safely and she didn't have the internal central heating which she would have been glad of had it been winter. And of course, visiting and supporting her was another call on my time. JB was great, and so was his mom, but I was Tara's best friend and I needed to be there for her.

So, all in all, I had precious little time for sitting around and thinking. During the day.

At night, it was a different story. Then, the time dragged. I'd tried watching old movies, doing chores, filling the freezer ready for the bridal shower, but sooner or later I'd found my attention wandering from the TV screen or the cookbooks and I'd be thinking.

Of Eric.

Where was he? What was he doing? Was he thinking of me at all? I wished I knew, and, not for the first time, I quietly cursed the day I'd let Amelia talk me into severing my bond with him. It had seemed important at the time - like I'd had to know if my feelings for him were real or not - but once I'd figured out that they were, somehow we hadn't got around to re-establishing it. He'd never offered, and I'd never asked, and when I'd asked myself honestly why that might be, I hadn't liked the answer I'd come up with.

Although part of the reason was that I was afraid he'd say no, I had to admit that it was also because I was too stubborn to admit that I'd been wrong to do it in the first place. That had been kind of a feature of my relationship with Eric - we were both stubborn people, and we didn't communicate as well as we should. If we'd talked more, I might have had had a better handle on vampires in general and Eric in particular.

I wished I knew more about how vampires operated. I was beginning to realise that it might have been sensible to have used my opportunities to learn more about Supes and their culture while I'd had the chance, but I'd been too busy trying not to be a real part of it. I'd wanted the connection with Eric, but hadn't really committed to being a part of his life - his world. I'd learned the minimum I needed to know, and tried to ignore the rest of it.

Thinking about it now, that probably hadn't been the smartest move. There was so much more to the Supe community than what I'd seen, but most humans would never even have the chance to experience what I had. Yes, there had been some truly hideous moments, and I'd spent a lot of the last few years horrified, shocked, scared spitless and dealing with far more corpses than any girl should have to, but I'd also seen and done some amazing stuff.

I'd seen vampire weddings, Were tribunals, witch rituals and fairy wars; I'd taken part in dances, funerals, trials and royal receptions; I'd flown with Eric, splashed through swamps with tigers, seen my brother become a were-panther, listened to a private performance by the world's most famous singer, helped the shifters reveal their existence to the world, met long-lost relatives ...

So, if I had a do-over, I would have paid more attention to Eric when he tried to teach me. I'd have asked more questions and listened more carefully, but it was probably too late to do anything about it now. The Queen of Oklahoma was in town, and hell bent on marrying Eric.

And if I was honest, that was the main reason I hadn't wanted to renew the bond. I didn't want to know how he really felt about her. Cowardly, I know, but it seemed as though not knowing for certain that he would be leaving meant I could pretend for a little while longer that he _wasn't_. That the offer of wealth, power, influence and a beautiful, immortal wife wouldn't draw him from me.

Of course, there was also the little matter of Felipe's reaction to the death of Victor. Although it had been very convenient for him to allow us to take out the late regent, his threat of disciplining Eric was a very real one. Marriage to Freyda would make Eric immune to that as well. So, all in all, he had every incentive to go, and almost none to stay.

Except, I wanted him to stay…

Two nights of that going round in my head and I felt like I was as close as I'd ever been to becoming the Crazy Sookie the good folk of Bon Temps called me. I couldn't stand being alone in the dark with my thoughts any longer, and I'd called Holly and offered to switch shifts with her. She was on nights this week, and had been fretting about not being able to see Hoyt when he got off work, so she was more than happy to swap the slightly better tips for more quality time with her honey.

I was glad to be occupied. Merlotte's had been crazy busy recently, and I'd been so tired when I got home that I'd barely taken the time to remove my makeup before falling into bed and letting the blackness suck me under.

But I'd had to go back to days eventually - I couldn't take advantage of the other waitresses just because I was one third of their boss, so I had to be fair with the rotas (and the tips). And so, this evening, I found myself sitting on the porch swing, listening to the katydids, watching the fireflies dancing under the trees, and trying not to think of Eric.

I wasn't having much success.

I remembered our last time together, at the fight out at Alcide's farm. He'd held my hand as we watched She-who-must-not-be-named and Mustapha battle it out. Then, when Sam had been caught in the crossfire and I'd saved him, Eric had disappeared without even saying goodbye. I figured that he'd been mad because I'd 'wasted' the cluviel dor on Sam when he'd wanted me to use it to get him out of the hole his maker had left him in.

Now, that was a thought. If Eric was so willing to go to Oklahoma and the fabulous prospects that awaited him there, why would he be so pissed that I hadn't bailed him out? That didn't make sense.

Maybe there was a ray of hope after all. Perhaps he genuinely _didn't _want to go…

Almost as though thinking of him had conjured him up, there was a faint rush of air, a crunch of gravel, and Eric landed softly in front of me, his long hair settling about his shoulders. His arrival triggered the motion-detectors and the security light came on, flooding the yard and silencing the katydids.

I sat up straighter and watched as he sprutted towards me (it was difficult to find a word that described how Eric moved; it was like a cross between a strut and a prowl, but it definitely wasn't anything as commonplace as a 'walk'). He flicked a stray insect off the lapel of his suit and I wondered briefly if he had the same problem motorcyclists did, with flies getting swatted against him as he flew. I brushed the thought aside as he drew near. He was all in black, but his blue eyes were very bright in the paleness of his face.

"Sookie." His deep voice was slightly hesitant - he was probably remembering the terms on which we parted last.

"Eric." I tried to keep my tone neutral, not giving away my desire to leap off the porch and into his arms. I didn't know if I'd ever get to do that again.

"Why is there a heap of trash in your yard? Isn't it a little hot for a bonfire?"

He knew it wasn't trash - he just hoped I'd react to his rudeness like I usually did. He knew how to handle my temper and sarcasm, he'd seen it often enough. But part of my recent self-examination had included a careful look at our relationship, and my responsibility for at least half of its success or failure. So, tonight I was going to be reasonable, even if it killed me, and if he had anything important to say, I was going to _listen_. So, I responded politely, "it's my furniture - I'm having some work done on the house and the floorboards are up."

"Hmm." A pause. "May I sit down?"

"Sure." I thought he might join me on the swing, but he chose to sit on the step instead, his forearms resting on his knees, his hands hanging loose as he gazed across the yard to the surrounding trees.

Silence fell again. I waited him out, although I was desperate to know where he'd been. This wasn't the first time he'd been out of touch for a while, but we hadn't been a couple the last time. Still, if he was here now that probably meant he wanted something or needed something from me. It usually did, and he'd tell me, given enough time.

At last he spoke.

"Dearest one … Sookie, I have some news for you."

Oh crap, here it came. I didn't need the bond to know this wasn't gonna be good.

"I know I haven't been in touch recently, but there have been good reasons." I wondered if I'd consider the reasons good too. "My cell phone was … sequestrated."

"Huh?"

"Felipe demanded I hand it over. He claimed he wanted his technicians to check it for evidence of my involvement in the death of Victor." He snorted with contempt - a surprisingly vulgar sound. "As if I would be stupid enough to leave anything so damning where it could be found. No, it was Freyda simply wanting to reduce my ability to communicate with you. I didn't dare refuse - if Felipe knew our bond was severed, it would be very dangerous for both of us."

"Couldn't you have sent me a message through Pam?"

He sighed. "He has kept her busy running errands or dancing attendance on Freyda - we've barely been allowed to see each other, and even then it was in the presence of others." A muscle in his jaw flexed, and I could tell he was grinding his teeth.

"But things are moving now. Tomorrow night Freyda is leaving for Oklahoma. I will be going with her."

I'd been expecting this, but I hadn't expected the pain that squeezed my heart when he finally said the words. And I certainly hadn't expected that it would all be over between us so soon. Was this it? The last time I'd ever see him? Had he come to say goodbye?

I couldn't say anything - all the air seemed to have vanished from the world. But he continued before I had a chance to find my voice.

"Not for the reason you might think, but because it will buy us more time. She has been urging me to make a decision this last week, and the more reluctant I've shown myself, the harder she's pushed. By agreeing to visit her realm I am showing willing - she thinks - and she believes that once I am there she can entice me by showing me what I would be gaining from the marriage."

I cleared my throat. "And is she right?"

He smiled, slightly. "She believes she understands me, what motivates me, but she is mistaken. She foolishly chose to negotiate with my maker rather than with me, and she has taken his estimate of my character as an accurate one."

I thought of Niall's description of Eric as Ocella's finest hour - he had created the perfect vampire, whose only flaw was me. It seemed like Eric was about to erase that flaw, and then he'd be everything his maker had intended. He continued, "It is many years since Ocella spent any length of time with me, and I am not what I once was."

"So … what's changed?"

"Enough." Damn it, I hated it when he was cryptic.

"Enough to make a difference?"

"I think so."

This was like pulling teeth, but I wouldn't give in. I made encouraging 'tell-me-more' noises.

"Ocella always desired power, influence, wealth, and he taught me to do the same. As a young vampire I wanted what he did, but when I began to make my own way in the world I found there were limits."

It surprised me that Eric would acknowledge he had _any _limits, and I said so.

He smirked. "I'm not speaking of limits to my abilities - I've never found those. If I wanted something, I took it - always. I mean, there are limits to my desires. There are some things I simply don't want, or I'd already have them." His belief in himself was radiating off him. He genuinely believed what he was saying.

"Do you really think I would have remained a Sheriff in a small, backwater Area if it wasn't what I wanted to do? If I craved a kingdom, I would take one. Sophie-Anne ruled because I respected and liked her, but I was stronger than she was and we both knew it. In Area Five I have as much authority as I want, and plenty of time to pursue my own interests." His expression darkened. "Or I did until Felipe took over."

"So why did you let him?"

He swatted a bug and glanced across at me, clearly considering his reply. Then he said, "it's complicated."

"That's not an answer."

"It's part of an answer. I don't have the time to give you a complete one now, and to understand fully you'd need a much better grasp of vampire politics than you have, but I know you will understand that sometimes survival is more important than victory."

Well, that sure rang true. Eric was nothing if not a survivor, and we both knew it.

"So, is that what you're trying to do with the marriage - playing it Freyda's way for a while, just to buy some time? You really don't want to leave?" I clung to that hope as the one bright spark in a dark future…

"Of course not. I told you - I will _not _be forced into leaving you. I shall go to Oklahoma and appear co-operative for the time being, but there is nothing there to tempt me. As I said, she will try, but she will be using the wrong bait and she will fail. And when it comes to the contract, I will insist on Cataliades acting for me."

"Well, I know he's a good lawyer, but I haven't seen him for a while. Is he available?" Last time I'd seen the Demon he'd been helping me dispose of a dead antiques dealer.

"I don't know, but I have the right to have the contract scrutinised by a lawyer of my choice, and he is the only one I trust. If he's not available, we'll just have to wait until he is. And then he will take a great deal of care, and as much time as is necessary. He understands how important it is to be thorough - he may have to spend weeks crawling around in the margins with a magnifying-glass. There is no-one like him for disputing minor points of law - he will have Freyda's lawyers tied up for months." Eric grinned cheerfully, and for the first time in days I felt a little better.

"So, the wedding won't be happening any time soon?"

"No. Or at all, if I can help it. I love you, I have no feelings for her, and I'm not interested in what she can offer me."

"Oh, thank God." This was what I needed to hear. After listening to Pam, Freyda and my own worries for way too long, I finally had it from the man himself. He didn't want to leave me, and was finally letting me in on his plans. He had no idea how much that helped. I got up and came and sat next to him on the steps. For the first time in weeks, I was feeling a closeness with him which I'd really missed. I hadn't realised quite how much I'd missed it, until I started to sense it again.

He took my hand and we sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the night and cautiously re-establishing our relationship, which had taken way too many hits of late. His cool fingers were stroking circles on my wrist, just above my pulse. It was kind of distracting …

I cleared my throat. "So, you think there might be some wriggle-room in the contract?"

"There may be. I haven't read it very thoroughly yet, but Ocella told me he had made sure it was not as restrictive as some. I would have a certain degree of autonomy in Oklahoma, including unrestricted access to Freyda, the right to attend her audiences and a seat on her council. I would be allowed to take Pam with me, and up to twenty followers provided Felipe agreed to let them go."

"Would he do that?"

Eric grinned again, but this time there was a lot less humor in it. "He'd agree to almost anything to get me out of his kingdom. After the coup he wanted to keep me, as I'm very profitable, but now he sees me as a destabilizing influence, and I have too many loyal followers. I'm more trouble than I'm worth, apparently."

"But I don't understand why Ocella would negotiate those things for you. What would it matter to him how you were treated, as long as he got whatever he wanted out of the contract?"

"This _is _what he wanted from the contract. He knew he would never be granted a kingdom of his own - he was a loner, and had very little political influence - so he decided he would exercise authority through me. This is why he wanted me to be more than a trophy consort - he intended to be the power behind the power behind the throne."

His tone was neutral as he spoke of his late maker. I knew he had mixed feelings towards Appius Livius Ocella - he had been drawn to him at the same time as hating what he could do to him. A maker's authority over his child was absolute; this contract was a perfect illustration of that.

"The power behind the throne, huh? Can consorts have that sort of influence?"

"Sometimes. It depends on the individual vampire couple."

"So you wouldn't be some sort of sex slave, then?"

He was scornful. "A sex slave? Can you really imagine me in that position?"

"I can imagine you in any number of positions where sex is concerned." My tone was provocative, and he reacted precisely as I hoped he would. His fangs dropped and he turned to face me.

"Can you really? That's good to know... " He glanced back at the yard, thoughtfully. "Hmm. I don't see your bed out here."

"Nope. They finished my bedroom yesterday and put everything back."

"Were they careful?"

"Of course."

"I'm not so sure." He stood up, towering over me where I sat on the step, and held out his hand. "Workmen are notoriously careless. As your husband, it is clearly my duty to inspect your bed and make sure it wasn't damaged at all when they moved it."

I took his hand and let him haul me upright. "Your duty, huh?"

"Yes. I suspect the mattress may need careful and prolonged testing."

"You may be right."

He lifted me into his arms and strode into the house, saying, "I usually am..."

* * *

**So, he's off to Oklahoma, where the wind comes whistling down the plain, but all is not lost.**

**Sookie has faith in her Viking, so I guess we can too.**

**Thanks for reading - let me know if this works for you.**

**All About Eric (because it just is...)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi there. Sorry this is a little late - fanfic has been a bit slow and I couldn't get on yesterday.**

**Anyway, thank you for all the kind words and reviews of Chapter One - I appreciate it and I'm happy to be writing again. **

**There's a lot of talking in this chapter, but I really do feel that Eric and Sookie **_**need **_**to have this conversation if their relationship is to succeed, and I know we all want that. **

**I hope you enjoy it, and that it makes sense to you. I have tried to address a few of the things in SVM that really made me say, "what the hell?" when I first read them; see if you can spot what they are.**

**Enjoy.**

**AAE**

* * *

The next night I went to Shreveport to see Eric off. I found him packing, so I perched on the bed and watched him as he moved around his bedroom, tossing his clothes into the open cases. I tried to veto the brown pleated pants with the tasselled belt, pointing out that he didn't need to impress fangbangers on this trip, but he insisted on taking them. I just had to hope the occasion to wear them wouldn't come up. Or maybe Freyda would hate them so much she'd change her mind ...

"Do you need a lift to the airport?" I didn't want to see the gorgeous vampire Queen and her entourage again, but I didn't want to lose a minute more than I had to of my time with Eric.

"No, I'm going to drive to Oklahoma."

I was surprised - I'd thought he was flying out with Anubis. "Won't Freyda want you with her?"

"Freyda doesn't always get what she wants. A little denial is good for the soul. I'm taking the Corvette - that way I'm not dependent on her for transport, and I can come back whenever I please."

"You could always fly back." He knew I didn't mean Anubis this time.

"Not with this many bags. I'll be setting out in a couple of hours." He frowned at two shirts that looked identical to me, apparently unable to choose between them. He settled the matter by packing both.

I glanced at the clock. "Will you have enough time to make it before dawn? It's about six hours' drive, isn't it?"

"I won't drive all the way tonight. I'm going to stop in Dallas overday, and I'll pay my respects to Stan Davies while I'm there." Ah. Maybe there was more than one reason for driving himself. What a surprise.

"That sounds like a good idea." Thinking of my new goal of learning more about the Supe world, I asked, "is that something Sheriffs are expected to do? Is it compulsory to check in?"

"If I were planning on staying in Texas, then yes. As I'm only passing through it's not strictly necessary, but it's a courtesy."

"A courtesy, huh?"

He must have picked something out of my tone, because he glanced at me, eyebrow raised. "Yes. Do you have a problem with that term?"

"Not the term, just the concept, where you're concerned. I've never known you do something just out of courtesy - there's usually an ulterior motive. Am I right?"

"No." It was my turn to raise an eyebrow, and he grinned, reluctantly. "Maybe. I may see others while I'm there, of course. And I may take the opportunity to remind Stan that not so long ago I loaned him my telepath."

"I thought he paid you for that?"

"He paid for your help in finding Farrell. Finding the FotS bug in his dining room and identifying Hugo as the spy wasn't covered by our agreement. And when you gave warning of the attack on his house, you saved vampire lives. He owes me."

Those words conjured up a whole world of favors given and favors received, all carefully recorded and banked until needed. This was common currency in the Supe world, even I knew that, and after so many centuries, Eric probably had favors due him from almost every vampire in America. Maybe this was a good time to be calling some of them in.

"Well, could you extend your courtesy as far as giving my best to Barry if he's still there?" The only other adult telepath I knew of had been a little wary of me since Rhodes, but I still felt a connection with him.

Eric smiled. "Of course, lover. To be honest, I hoped you'd say that. I wanted to speak to him, and passing on your greetings will give me the perfect excuse." He flipped the locks on the cases, took them out through the kitchen and loaded them into his Corvette. I trailed after him but he was back before I'd even crossed the living room.

He glanced at his watch before sitting on the couch and looking at me expectantly. We still had a while before he had to leave, and I planned to make good use of it. I joined him and put my arms round his waist, laying my head on his chest while his arm tightened round my shoulders.

I smiled as my eye caught a familiar, blue-enamelled, silver bowl on the coffee-table. Eric had a lot of lovely things which he liked to display, but I'd always wondered why he had something so dangerous to vampires. I'd never gotten around to asking him and now was as good a time as any.

"Honey, why do you have a silver bowl in the house?"

He said, "it was a gift from a wealthy human who was one of the first to do business with me after the Great Revelation."

"Well, I know it's beautiful, but isn't it a bit risky?"

He nodded. "Yes. I burned my hand quite badly when I first unwrapped it. The stupid man should have known better than to give silver to a vampire without warning - our reaction to it is not exactly a secret. But he won't be doing it again."

Although he sounded innocent enough, I knew him too well. "What did you do to him?" The light in his eye told me he'd definitely done something.

"I did some research - which is what he'd failed to do - and discovered he had a peanut allergy and a reputation for cheating on his wife. So I invited him to a meeting at Fangtasia and made sure all the waitresses were wearing peanut-flavored lip-gloss and were _very _friendly. As I recall, he found Belinda particularly appealing. Until his lips and tongue started swelling up, of course. Then he discovered what it's like to encounter a harmful substance without warning."

He showed a little fang, and I was both shocked at his ruthlessness and amused at his ingenuity. "I didn't let him die - the deal wasn't finalized yet - so I had a couple of paramedics in the parking lot on standby. But he won't have forgotten his lesson, and I had the pleasure of calling his wife to tell her what had happened - and why. His wasn't the only interesting reaction that night."

"So why did you keep the bowl?"

"Partly to remind me never to underestimate the stupidity of humans, and partly because I appreciate beauty, even when it comes with an edge of danger. In fact, that can add a little spice to my appreciation, my Fairy lover." He smiled at me and allowed his fingers to stroke gently over my neck, tickling slightly, and I wriggled.

"Are you sure you don't want me to heal those for you?" He meant last night's bite-marks.

"Nuh-huh. I want something to remind me of you while you're away. Do you need to feed again before you go?"

His fangs snicked out. "Need, no, but _want - _always. I'll never refuse that offer." I tilted my head a little, but he said, "your neck is still sore; give me your wrist instead."

I sat up then and stretched out my arm. It looked very delicate in his huge hands, but he held it very carefully as he bent his head. I felt the soft whisper of his golden hair brushing across my skin, then the coolness of his lips and the slight sting as his fangs sliced into my vein.

It felt good. He didn't usually hurt me while feeding; the last time had been the night we'd offed Victor, and he'd offered a rare apology for that. We'd neither of us been in a good place - he'd been hyped up on the violence and the blood, I'd been the exact opposite - but we'd gotten past it and he'd been considerate ever since.

He didn't take much, but while he drank I stroked his hair and thought carefully about what to say next. At last he straightened up, and shook his hair back, licking his fangs to get the last scarlet drops. His eyes were very bright and his color was good, so I knew he must have had enough. I took a deep breath and committed myself.

"Honey, uh, could I have some of yours?"

He froze at that, frowning a little. There was a silence for a couple of seconds, then he said, "What are you asking me for, Sookie?"

"I ... I want to renew our bond, before you go. Not if you don't want to," I added, hurriedly. "But I do. I mean, I've been thinking about it and ..." my voice tailed off as he let go my arm and sat back on the couch. His face was very closed off now, and he seemed a little bit wary. Damn, I wished I could read his mind.

"Why?"

"Why have I been thinking about it?"

"No, why do you want to renew it? If our bond mattered to you, why haven't you suggested restoring it before now?"

"Well, why haven't you, for that matter?" I felt just a little defensive at the suspicion in his voice, and had what even I recognized as a knee-jerk reaction.

"I wasn't the one who severed it. You've already rejected the connection - why should I open myself up to further insult by offering to renew it and being turned down? It was for you to make the suggestion."

"Yeah, well, I'm making it."

"Again I ask, why?"

I sighed. There was no escaping it. "Because I was wrong to break it in the first place, okay? Or at least, wrong not to tell you I wanted to do it. And once it was done, I should have asked about renewing it, but I didn't like to in case you said no, or got mad at me again."

"Are you surprised I got mad? To feel the bond suddenly disappear like that and not to know what had happened - I thought you were dead!"

I remembered the frantic tone in his phone-call that night as he'd assured himself that I was alright. He hadn't deserved that, and I felt a twinge of guilt.

"I've been thinking a lot lately." I looked at him, expecting a sarcastic remark, or at the very least a lift of the eyebrow, but he was just watching me steadily. He wasn't going to make this easy for me. I forced myself to say the words. "You remember the night we went to Vampire's Kiss and Victor laced your drinks with fairy blood?"

He nodded silently.

"And I picked up the warning from Colton and managed to tell you something was wrong?"

"Yes. Pam and I would have drunk it without your alerting me. The consequences could have been very serious."

"Well, I realise now, I wouldn't have been able to do that without the bond. God only knows what would have happened, so I can see it's not just for knowing how we're feeling - it saved us all, that night. I was ... well, I won't say I was wrong to break it, because I always felt I was forced into it, and I hadn't asked for it, but I_ was _wrong to leave it broken. I was worried I'd pick up your feelings for Freyda, and Bill said ..."

"What has Compton been telling you?"

I told him everything that Bill had said on the night Freyda came to visit me - checking out the competition. He'd made it pretty clear that Eric would have to be a fool to pass up what Freyda was offering him. It had made sense at the time, and yet ...

Eric looked annoyed. "I don't understand why you would take his word for anything - you know what a liar he is. And how would he know my reasons for doing something? Do you think I confide in him?"

"Well, you weren't exactly confiding in me, were you?"

"I was angry that you didn't trust me. You let your witch friend convince you to break our bond, you talked to Compton but not me, and he filled your head with poison. He wants you for himself and he's not above trying to undermine me when he thinks he can get away with it. He's like the serpent in the Christian Garden of Eden, whispering deceit to Eve and telling her exactly what she wanted to hear."

It was no good; he was right. Bill had no trouble at all lying to me to get what he wanted - I knew that from personal experience.

"He's been playing on your insecurity, and you just swallowed it all without considering its source or his motives. He lied to you every night for months, when he first arrived in Bon Temps. I have _never _lied to you."

"What about that time in Dallas?" I didn't like to bring it up, but in the interests of accuracy I felt I had to point out that he _had _lied to me once.

He looked puzzled. "What time in Dallas?"

"At Stan's house, when you took a bullet for me. You said it would heal inside you unless I sucked it out, but you had a knife in your pocket all along, and you could have used that instead." And that was where the whole blood-bond mess had started. I'd always hated the fact that I'd never been given a choice; it had been forced on me, either deliberately or because of circumstances, and it really bugged me that Eric had manipulated the situation so shamelessly.

Now his puzzled look was replaced by complete incomprehension. "As I recall, I told you to either suck the bullet out or get a knife and cut it out. Why would I tell you to get a knife if I already had one?"

"Bill told me you'd got one …" my voice faded away as understanding dawned on Eric's face.

"Bill again. And just how would he know what I had in my pockets that night?" A good point. "Particularly considering he wasn't even in the room protecting his woman, he was outside, feeding."

An equally good point. Eric had been the one to shield me - Bill had disappeared into the night. I remembered his excuses afterwards; he'd said, 'I got carried away. Vampires do when the chance to hunt presents itself - it's our nature.' But Eric hadn't gotten carried away - he'd stayed with me.

It was beginning to dawn on me that Bill had lied about more than just his reasons for dating me in the first place. My voice was small as I said, "so you weren't trying to trick me into drinking your blood?"

"Is that what he told you? You taking my blood was a definite bonus, but my priority was to get the bullet out of my shoulder before the flesh healed over it. Ordinary bullets will emerge on their own, but this one was silver. I did give you the option of using a knife, remember, although it would have hurt a lot more."

"I know. Dammit, I believed him when he told me you were manipulating me! And that's always been one of the main reasons I resented the bond so much - I thought all along that you tricked me into it, and I hated that you'd do that to me, but it wasn't you - it was him. _He's_ the manipulator." I shook my head in disbelief and disgust at my own naivety. "I'm so sorry, honey. I didn't know what he was like back then, but I really should have thought about it since. I must have been blind, or stupid."

Eric waved the apology away. "You were neither of those things, lover - you were simply inexperienced and you didn't know Compton as well as I do. But I must admit I hoped you'd learned better by now. It seems he's still lying to you, when he thinks there's something to gain from it, and you're still listening to him and jumping to conclusions."

"I won't be doing that any more. Oh God, I am so sorry for misjudging you, Eric."

"Truly? You are genuinely sorry?" He turned slightly on the couch to face me now, his face solemn.

I smiled slightly. "Well, if we re-establish the bond, you'll know how genuinely sorry I am, won't you? Seriously, though, I still wish I'd been given a choice, but it wasn't your fault - I see that now. And I admit there have been times when I ... well, I kind of missed the bond. Missed you."

Now he smiled, and said, "dear one, I missed it too, and I would be happy to renew it. We won't be able to restore it fully tonight, but we can at least start the process. Until it's complete you won't be able to feel me, but I'll be able to feel you and it will help while I'm away, to know that you are safe."

"What if I'm not safe? What if Felipe or Horst or someone comes sniffing round?"

"Trust me, Sookie. I am watching over you, even if I'm not there in person. One of my vampires is always in your woods at night and if anything happens they will call me. If necessary I'll drop everything and come back to you. I can be here in under an hour if I fly a direct route."

Well, that was good to know. I wondered what Eric's top airspeed was. I remembered the night of the firebomb at Merlottes; he'd arrived from Shreveport at about the same time the firefighters arrived from Bon Temps, although it was a good hour in the car.

He hugged me. "I know this is difficult for you, and I haven't been as ... open as you might like, but secrecy is a very hard habit to break and you've not always been receptive when I've tried to explain our ways."

I hung my head a little. That was true enough. "I know. I don't know why I was so resistant. I guess I didn't want to get involved in the Supe world - it only leads to trouble."

"But dear one, you _are_ involved in that world. You cannot escape it - you belong to it. Your great-grandfather is Fae, your brother is a were-panther, your boss is a shifter, your best friend is a witch and your husband is a vampire. How much more involved could you be?"

His tone was very serious now as he held me to him. "You are denying yourself by your rejection of this side of your nature. You cannot go on closing your eyes to what is around you and within you - you will get hurt. Again."

"I've survived so far."

"At what cost? How many times have you been attacked in the last two years? How many scars and injuries do you have that might have been avoided if you'd known what you were walking into and how to defend yourself? _Please_ let me equip you, educate you in our ways, so you at least have a better chance of surviving and I don't spend every waking moment anxious for you."

"Is that how you feel? Anxious?"

"Recently, yes. If we still had our bond, you would know that." He sighed. "I know this is partly my fault - you need more from me. But I need more from you too. I need your trust."

"I do trust you."

His eyebrow quirked. "Really? Did you trust me enough to tell me about the cluviel dor?"

"Well, no, but you knew about it anyway. Niall said he'd told you."

"Then why not talk to me about it openly?"

"Niall said ...

"And why do you feel the need to listen him? Amelia, Bill, Niall ... it feels as though you're prepared to take advice from everybody except me!"

"But he was right. He said I needed to see how you'd behave if you knew I had something that powerful."

"And how did I behave? Did I take it from you? Try to trick you into handing it over? Ask you outright to use it to help me? To help us?"

"Well, no, but why couldn't you just have been more up front instead of dropping a whole heap of hints and then getting mad when I didn't pick up on them?"

He hissed with exasperation. "Because I wanted you to _trust _me! Why is that so hard for you?"

"Because I keep trusting people and I keep getting hurt! I trusted Arlene and she tried to have me crucified; I trusted Bill and he betrayed me every way I can think of. I trusted Rene and he killed my Gran, I trusted Claude and Dermott and they were both searching my house behind my back. I trusted Amelia and she sneaked Alcide into my bed ..."

"What?" His fangs shot out at that last one. I waved it aside.

"Nothing happened - I kicked him out. The point is, I've trusted people and gotten shot down every time."

"Not every time. You trusted me to keep you safe when we went to the orgy out at Mimosa Lake, and I did." A sudden flashback of Eric in pink Lycra threatened to derail my train of thought for a minute, and I had to force the image from my mind. Reluctantly ...

"You did try to persuade me to 'yield' to you."

He smiled reminiscently, but wouldn't back down. "Persuasion - not coercion, and not until you'd achieved your goal. The point is, you hardly knew me then, but you told me you trusted me. I didn't let you down that night, and I won't let you down now. I'm not saying you should trust everyone you meet - that would be suicidal - but you do need to develop more discrimination. Do you understand me?"

"You're saying I should think about the reason I trust someone - whether they've earned it."

"Precisely. And on that basis, you have no reason not to trust me. Please, dear one, I realise it's hard for you but can we agree to this? If you will try to trust me more, I will try to tell you more?"

I thought for a minute, then said, "okay, I think I can do that. I can try at least. As long as you don't keep me in the dark. You blame me for jumping to conclusions, but that's what people do when they don't have all the facts."

He nodded. "A fair point. Then we are agreed; we will both try harder." He sighed. "It is strange - we have done nothing but talk this evening, yet I feel exhausted. Why is that?"

"Relationships can be like that - kind of wearing. Don't you ever have to work at your relationship with Pam?"

"No. I tell her to do something - she does it. It's very uncomplicated, really. She quotes _Dear Abby _at me a lot, but I don't usually listen."

I knew quite a lot of vampires read the agony pages, as they thought it gave them a better read on humanity, but Eric had never bothered. He said he knew all he needed to about inflicting agony on humans...

"I am always astonished at how many humans seem to feel the need to write to a complete stranger and air their difficulties in public. You'd think they would be too ashamed to admit to their deficiencies." His lip curled with distaste.

"Well, human partners don't find relationships any easier than you and I do, and they don't even have a blood-bond to help. Speaking of which, can we get started on that? You'll have to leave soon."

"Of course, lover. Come here." Didn't need to tell me twice. He sat back and I perched on his lap, my back snuggled against his chest. He wrapped one arm round me and I heard the faint crunch as he bit into the other wrist. Then it appeared in front of me, the red welling up sluggishly from the twin punctures.

I latched on and began sucking, angling his arm to get a good seal. Our position and the little sounds he was making reminded me of the time we'd done this in Mississippi when we'd been at Russell Edgington's place. But _this _time I wasn't injured, and we were doing it because I'd asked for it. It was my choice. That was the biggest difference for me.

Eric was moving behind me now, pressing against me and moaning and that was just like at Russell's mansion too. We'd almost had sex that night before he'd given me his blood, but we'd been interrupted by Bubba climbing through the window. Well, that wasn't going to happen this time - he was in Arizona right now.

He'd been really upset when his private concert at Fangtasia had been interrupted by a bloodbath, and it had been decided he'd be happier away from Louisiana for a while. He had good memories of Arizona, Eric said - he'd made a film there in the sixties and sung in Phoenix, and the ruler had been lobbying hard for the honour of a visit, so we knew he'd be treated with respect.

Meanwhile, there would be no interruptions if Eric and I decided to have a little make-up sex, or going-away sex, or whatever-excuse-we-damn-well-wanted sex. The bites had healed by now and although I couldn't feel him in my mind, I could definitely feel my libido getting its ass in gear. Sometimes an inconvenient side-effect, but not on this occasion ...

Something else I could feel was his gracious plenty, hard against my butt. My sexual temperature was rising and I let go of his arm, pressed back against him and did a little moving of my own. He murmured his satisfaction and his hands dropped to the hem of my shirt. One headed south, sliding underneath the waistband of my shorts, and I spread my thighs, allowing his long fingers to probe gently, fluttering and stroking, cool against my heated flesh. His other hand headed upwards until it rested on my breast, squeezing and caressing until I was openly panting and shivers of pleasure were running up and down my back.

I reached behind me, burying my hands in his hair and drawing his head down to mine, and with a sound that was half a snarl, half a moan his tongue plunged into my mouth, twining with my own in a dance that was half playful, half possessive and all pleasure ...

This was the way it should be. This was what being with Eric was meant to be like - give and take, sharing and trust, a joining of so much more than our bodies. Bill and his scheming would never come between us again.

I writhed on Eric's lap and the heat grew stronger. I was moaning as his talented fingers and mouth drove me towards the peak but just as my spine was about to melt with bliss he stiffened and dragged his mouth away from mine with a muttered curse.

"Wha ...? What's wrong?" My head was spinning and I was barely coherent as I stammered out my query. What had just happened? We'd been so close ... "Eric?" He lifted me from his lap as I heard a car-door slam. Shoot - we had visitors. He'd heard the car before I had.

A ring on the doorbell came as I straightened my clothes and caught my breath. "Do you want me to go to the bedroom, honey?" I had no idea who this was, and it was kind of embarrassing to be caught getting down and dirty in our living-room. I prayed it wasn't Felipe - or Freyda! - hell, that would _not _be good!

"No, stay right where you are. It's Bill. I asked him to come over this evening, but didn't think he'd be here so soon."

Bill? Well, so much for him never coming between us again, the damn cockblocker!

"Why's he here? And are you sure you want him to see me right now? I mean, after what we were just doing? I look a bit ...""

"I have work for him, and you look delightful. I've no objection at all to him seeing you like this _or_ to him knowing what we were just doing. He needs to understand he won't be permitted to interfere in our relationship again."

We both got up and he went to answer the door while I took a look in the mirror. My hair had come half out of its ponytail, my lips were red and swollen and my pupils were wide, with only a small rim of blue showing. I looked well-loved. _Very _well-loved. I smiled at my reflection before following Eric. If he wanted to send a message to Bill, I was up for it.

Sure enough, Bill Compton stood on the path, looking slightly nervous, as well he might do. He wasn't often summoned to see his Sheriff.

"Come in, Bill," said Eric and walked away, leaving the front door open. Bill stepped inside and glanced around. I didn't know what he expected to see, but he was just about to follow Eric across the hallway when Eric tossed the word, "shoes," over his shoulder as he disappeared back into the living room.

Bill looked at me, startled, and I smiled sweetly. "House rule," I said, and pointed at the shoe rack by the door. I wished I'd been able to insist on that rule when Felipe and his entourage had come to visit. His consort, Angie, had danced on Eric's coffee-table in high heels, and the gouges were still visible in spite of everything a restorer had been able to do. Eric had been really pissed - he liked that coffee-table.

Meanwhile, Bill hesitated for a few seconds and then bent to undo his laces. He was wearing Argyll socks patterned in green and yellow, and there was a small hole in one of them.

Then he followed me back to the living room where Eric was already seated on the couch in a relaxed pose. The bulge in the front of his pants was _very _evident, and I was pretty sure that's why he was sitting the way he was; he wanted Bill to see. He pointed at the chair opposite, while I curled up next to him and he pulled me in close to his side. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked at Bill, who sat gingerly on edge of the low chair, his dark eyes wary.

Eric didn't offer him anything to drink, or waste any time on social niceties. "I've called you here to discuss your attendance at Fangtasia." His expression was uncompromising; he was all Sheriff at that moment.

"My attendance? What do you mean? I don't ..."

"Pre-cisely." Eric's tone was dry. "You don't. And as far as I am aware, you are the only vampire in my entourage who doesn't. You know all vampires in Area Five are required to appear regularly at my bar, to entertain the patrons. You have been conspicuous by your absence. Why is that?"

Bill looked uneasy, his eyes shifting back and forth between us. I didn't help him at all. I'd often wondered why the most breather-friendly of all the vampires I knew didn't put in time at Fangtasia, like the rest of Eric's people.

He said, "my work keeps me busy."

"Every vampire in my Area works, yet they still find the time to put in their contracted hours. What makes you so different?"

"The vampire database is very important ..."

"And complete. Updating it doesn't take all your time, so what else do you do every night, apart from hanging around in the woods spying on my wife?"

"I don't spy on her! I just want to make sure she's safe ..."

Eric's tone was cold. "Are you implying I'm incapable of looking after her?" Bill was treading on thin ice here. To suggest a vampire couldn't protect his human was a huge insult and we all knew it. He backpedalled so hard, if you'd attached a dynamo to him you could have lit the whole of Bon Temps.

"No, of course not. I know she's well protected. I didn't mean to imply ... but I'm right next door, and I occasionally wander over that way just to check in."

"Occasionally. That's something of an understatement, Bill. According to Heidi, your scent has been fresh in Sookie's woods every night for the last five weeks." Heidi was Eric's best tracker, and if she said Bill's scent was there, it was there. I made a mental note to be sure and pull the drapes _every _night from now on.

Bill couldn't deny it, but he tried a different tack. He said, "Sookie, you don't have a problem with my walking in your woods, do you? You've never minded before. You've even invited me into your home sometimes."

"She will be rescinding your invitation." Even as I stiffened in indignation at Eric's high-handed response, I remembered our earlier conversation. Was I going to object to this just as another knee-jerk response? I knew it was a sensible move, and if Eric hadn't said it, I would have done it myself as soon as I'd thought of it. Yes, he could have suggested it rather than stating it, but he needed to show his authority right now and any protests on my part would weaken his position. I kept quiet.

"Well? What else occupies your time?" said Eric.

Bill's tone was defensive now. "I'm the Area Investigator."

"And what have you investigated recently? It's hardly a full-time role, and you've hardly distinguished yourself in it. Let's face it, Sookie has done most of your work for you; you didn't even notice a dead fangbanger on my lawn, which involved us all in a very nasty scandal."

Bill spluttered silently and Eric leaned forward and said, "No, I think you have plenty of free time, and you are going to make yourself useful for the next week. While I'm away, I expect you to report to Fangtasia every night, to assist Pam. We haven't had a permanent bartender since Jock died."

"A bartender? But I've never worked in a bar!" Bill's dark eyes widened in astonishment.

"Think it might be beyond your abilities?" Eric's voice was mocking. "Sookie does it with no problem - are you saying she can do something you can't? After all, with your superior memory you shouldn't have any problems remembering the orders. Or would you prefer to wait tables or work on the door, carding the humans?"

His tone hardened. "I mean it, Bill. You signed up to this when you moved here, and you owe me a lot of bartime. I've been lenient up until now, as I've never thought you were that good for Fangtasia's image, but we've lost too many vampires recently and you will either fulfil your obligations to me or leave my Area. Which is it to be?"

Bill hesitated for a second, then dropped his eyes. "I'll go to Fangtasia."

"Of course you will. Pam's expecting you. And tell her to find you something less dorky to wear; it's a vampire bar, not a college professors' convention. One of her pets is bound to have something suitable." I nearly choked at the image of Bill in a black leather collar, studded harness and chains, which was the usual wear for Pam's pets when they came to Fangtasia, and then I nearly lost it again at the expression on his face. He couldn't believe Eric was doing this, but he was.

Bill looked at me and made one last attempt. "But Sookie will be alone while you're away ..."

"Sookie is no longer your concern, Bill. I suggest you think a little less about her and a little more about pleasing your Sheriff. And bear in mind that Pam is my second, and I expect you to obey her every command while I'm gone. If I get an unsatisfactory report from her, I can assure you, you will regret it."

If it had been possible, Bill would have grown even paler. I watched with interest as he licked his lips nervously, and tried to think of a way out of his position. But he didn't have a leg to stand on; Eric was his Sheriff, and there was no appeal.

Eric looked pointedly at his watch and Bill took the hint, nodding respectfully and getting to his feet. Eric stood up too, making sure his broad frame hid me completely from Bill's view as he walked the younger vampire out. He didn't need to touch him - he just moved him out of the living room and across the hallway by sheer force of personality. I stayed where I was until I heard the front door close, and Eric came back into the living-room, looking cheerful.

"Well, that will keep him out of mischief and away from you. Pam has promised me plenty of pictures. Seriously though, lover, rescind his invitation as soon as you get home. And stay indoors at night as much as you can. Can you arrange your work so that you can do that? I'd feel much happier knowing you were behind your wards after dark."

I nodded. "I'll do that. I promise."

"And now, we have just time to finish what we were doing when we were so rudely interrupted ..." His fangs were down, and something else was still up. Way up. He caught me in his arms, and then we were in the bedroom with clothes flying everywhere ...

Some forty-five feverish and fantastic minutes later, we were both getting dressed again and Eric was reassuring me.

"I will have someone in the woods all the time, day and night, so don't worry - you'll be well protected." He sighed and looked at his watch. "I must go if I'm to reach Dallas before dawn. I hate having to leave you. You do understand why I'm doing this, don't you?"

"Yeah. I don't have to like it, but I do understand it."

"Good." He kissed me and we went through to the kitchen, heading for the garage. He folded himself into his car and hit the remote to raise the garage door. "I will contact you every night."

"Even if you're busy?"

"I expect Freyda will keep me very busy, but I will find the time, even if it's only a text. And I'll be thinking of you, I promise. I'll be back in a week - sooner if I can. If you have any problems, call Pam; she'll be able to get through to me if she needs to. But try not to go to Fangtasia if you can avoid it - I don't want you running into Compton unnecessarily."

I nodded, not trusting myself to say anything. Eric looked concerned.

"Please try to trust me, dear one - I love you, and I will _not _betray you with Freyda or anyone else. We'll get through this together."

"Together. That sounds good."

"It will _be _good. I promise."

A last kiss, and he reversed out of the garage and down the drive. I watched his car turn and pull away as the garage-door slowly closed, and then I trudged back into the empty, silent house.

* * *

**So, Sookie's learned a few things about Eric and about herself, and Bill's been put in his place for the moment...**

**Incidentally, if there is anything in the SVM series that truly pissed you off or made you say WTF?, please PM me about it and I'll see if there's any way of putting it right in future chapters. **

**Between us, we will restore balance to the Sookieverse...**

**Thanks for reading.**

**AAE**


	3. Chapter 3

**EPOV**

A flat tire and a road accident on 20 near Longview having delayed me, I made it to Dallas with only minutes to spare before the sun rose. The rim of the eastern sky was turning a pale peach and the stars were fading as I pulled up at the Silent Shore Hotel, and I was thankful for the cover the porte-cochere provided.

I checked in under my own name and took the keycard and the case containing my blue pinstripe suit from the bellboy. Although he used the elevator I took the stairs, knowing my vampire speed would beat him by a good margin; there was not much time and I was glad that I had already called ahead and asked for an appointment to see Stan the following night.

I texted Sookie to let her know I had arrived safely, and had unpacked by the time the bellboy arrived. I handed him my suit with instructions to see that it was clean and pressed ready for when I rose, then hustled him out of the room with a tip. I could feel the darkness curling at the edges of my mind as I double-locked the door behind him; I did not choose to allow strange humans in my room while I slept. I checked the blinds on the windows, then stripped and fell into bed, allowing death to take me.

The next evening I rose and checked my phone. There was a message from Sookie wishing me good luck for this evening, and one from a member of Stan's day staff, telling me I had been granted an early appointment, so I hurried through my preparations. The last time I had been in Dallas Stan had only been a Sheriff, but now he was the King. He still lived on Green Valley Road but the security and protocols surrounding him were significantly tighter.

As I drove through the suburbs, I thought very carefully about the coming interview. I wasn't asking permission to hunt, as I wasn't remaining in Texas, and I wasn't directly seeking a favor, but I did need his goodwill for what I had in mind. How I approached it was very important; I couldn't speak of it directly, as it was dangerous at best and treasonous at worst, so I had to find a subtle way of letting him know what I meant.

I felt a thrill of anticipation run through me - this was the sort of thing I truly enjoyed, matching wits with my equals in a risky enterprise. I knew Stan was a very astute vampire, and I looked forward to seeing how quickly he would pick up a hint and what his reaction would be.

I pulled up outside the mansion and scanned the quiet exterior. The last time I'd seen it the walls had been pocked with bullet-holes and the windows had been destroyed from the Fellowship attack. There was no sign of that memorable night in the smooth façade now; it looked no different from its neighbors, except for being in complete darkness.

I smiled reminiscently as I recalled Sookie's body beneath mine for the first time as mayhem exploded around us; her warmth as she squirmed against me, the shock in her blue eyes, quickly changing to outrage as she realised who was lying on top of her, and then the feel of her mouth on my body as she sucked out the bullet I had taken for her sake...

I shook off the memory and re-focussed as I exited the car. There was nothing to show that anyone was home, but as I strode up the path four vampires stepped from their hiding places and moved smoothly to intercept me. They wore swords and wary expressions. I gave them my name and allowed two of them to frisk me while another checked his guest list, before they rang the doorbell and I was admitted.

A short, dark vampire met me in the main room. This was Joseph Velasquez, Stan's second and former sergeant at arms, now his head of security. His body language had changed since I saw him last - he carried himself more confidently, as though sure of himself and his abilities. That was all to the good for my purposes this evening. He searched me again, more thoroughly than the guards, and took my cellphone to ensure no record existed of my conversation with his king. I wasn't worried - it was encrypted so thoroughly there was nothing he could do with it even if he wanted to.

The guards returned to their duties outside, and Joe paused for a few seconds with his head cocked on one side as though listening to distant music, before escorting me to the dining-room - Stan's usual place of business. Sookie had mentioned Stan's ability to communicate mentally with his nestmates, but this was the first instance of it that I'd seen for myself.

The King of Texas was seated at one end of a long table next to a green-eyed female vampire I remembered from my last visit. Her expression was hostile, but his was neutral. His pale eyes studied me from behind his glasses as I nodded deeply, remaining standing until he gestured to a chair.

"Sheriff Northman, you remember Isabel." It was a statement, not a question.

"Of course." I nodded politely to his nestmate as I sat, forcing from my mind a vivid picture of her chained naked in a room upstairs as punishment for introducing a traitor to the nest. I returned my attention to Stan, trying hard to strike the right note with my words and body language. I needed to show him the respect due to his rank while not appearing subservient - he was not _my_ king.

"A drink?"

"Please." After feeding from Sookie last night I didn't need it, but there was no point offending him if there was nothing to gain from it.

He gave no instructions, but a few minutes later a human came through the door with three glasses of LifeFlow. He was smiling vacantly, with every appearance of being heavily glamored.

"Hey, Mr Stan. Got your drinks here." I was startled at the familiar way he addressed a vampire, but even more startled that Stan didn't appear to find it odd.

"Thank you Re-Bar. Put the tray carefully on this table and then go back to the kitchen." He spoke carefully and clearly, and as soon as I heard the name I remembered Sookie telling me of the human whose brain had been fried by Godric, the renouncer. I observed him carefully; he was obviously still useful for some things, and seemed happy enough. I would tell Sookie about him - although it didn't matter to me, it would to her.

We sipped our warm drinks carefully - Stan was clearly one of those who believed that the flavour was improved by serving it at slightly above body temperature. Since the introduction of synthetic blood, entire mythologies and rituals had grown up around it, similar to the human obsession with tea and coffee.

I had seen a lot of magazine articles and television programs devoted to discussing the different brands and the best ways of storing and serving it, but at least vampires only had the basic ingredient to work with, and didn't have to worry about whether to add milk before or after the hot water.

The door closed behind Re-Bar and I waited for Stan to speak; as king, protocol dictated that he picked the topic of conversation, so it was going to take considerable diplomacy for me to bring it round to the reason for my visit.

At last he spoke.

"So, how are things in the golden state these days?" his tone was dry as he chose this method of reminding me that the last time I'd been under his roof I'd claimed to be a Californian vampire called Leif. It had been Sookie's first contract outside my area, and I'd wanted to keep a discreet eye on her. Bill had informed me, with a certain glee, that Stan had threatened me for daring to insist on payment for Sookie's services, but nothing had come of it.

I had no way of knowing whether Stan had been fooled by my masquerade at the time, but of course as soon as he'd seen me in Rhodes the game had been up. He'd not commented, and neither had I, but there had been a certain look in his eye and we both knew...

"It's a while since I was last there. I live in Louisiana now."

He nodded, conceding that I wasn't going to admit to anything out loud. "Why did you leave?"

I said, "Mostly the weather; it's very hot in California at this time of year." He didn't react, but Isabel looked puzzled. The weather was an irrelevance to vampires, so they didn't usually discuss it unless they were British - it had taken me decades to break Pam of the habit. My mentioning it was clearly a prelude to something else and I waited to see if Stan would pick up on the opening move.

He said, "Texas hasn't been too bad but I've heard it's been quite rough in Louisiana recently." He was definitely not talking about the weather now. I felt a tingle of exhilaration as the delicate manoeuvring began.

I thought carefully before replying, "things are beginning to stabilise. We're all hoping it's going to cool off soon."

"It's been an unsettled outlook for too long - not good for anyone. Probably going to get hotter, too, with those storms coming in from the Northwest." I'd known that the rumors about my projected alliance with Freyda had spread far and wide - Felipe had made sure of that, thinking it would bring added pressure to bear on me - so I was not surprised at Stan's oblique reference to Oklahoma.

"Yes, I really don't enjoy that sort of climate. My Viking nature, I suppose."

He looked intrigued. "I thought you were heading there tonight."

"Just for a few days. What's the human saying - it's alright for a vacation, but I wouldn't want to live there?"

"I can understand that. Tornadoes and ... other destructive forces."

I nodded. "I prefer a more settled environment. Of course, the problem with storms is that they're no respecters of boundaries. Major destruction in Louisiana can so easily spill over the border and devastate neighboring kingdoms as well." His eyes narrowed as he grasped the warning in what I was saying. "But if we spot the danger signals in time, we can take sensible precautions, warn others, and no-one need be caught out. In my experience, neighbours who help each other usually end up helping themselves ultimately. Favors are always repaid, in one way or another."

He was thoughtful for a moment and I shifted the tone of the conversation slightly. "But how have things been going for you? I'm pleased to see you're fully recovered from the Rhodes bombing."

"I was lucky in my choice of second. Joseph held Texas together for me while I recuperated, and we're flourishing."

"He must have worked very hard. He clearly has what it takes to be a ruler." I planted a tiny seed in his mind, and then proceeded to water it gently. "Have you considered giving him a reward now that you're back in command here? Perhaps a vacation? There are a great many places where he could amuse himself, given the opportunity to spread his wings a little."

He leaned forward at that. "I hadn't considered it, but maybe you're right. However, something like that is very expensive - so many preparations to make, and unexpected costs always arise."

I had been right in my assessment of his shrewdness - he clearly understood exactly what I was saying. "True. But I'm sure any number of people would be willing to help such a deserving vampire if he needed it."

"Hmm. He is deserving, as you said. But I'm not sure I could let him go at this time. He is needed here."

I glanced at Isabel, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, although I had no doubt she was following it closely. "You clearly have other vampires who would be more than competent to take over while he was away." her eyes widened just a fraction at my words, acknowledging the compliment, and Stan appeared to consider the suggestion carefully.

After a moment he said, "I know how widely travelled you are; have you got any suggestions for a possible vacation destination? Personal recommendations are always helpful."

I pretended to think. "Hmm. Well, if you like I could keep an eye out on my current trip, and let you know if I see anything he might take advantage of. Although the Oklahoma climate may not suit me, I suspect a younger vampire could enjoy himself very much there. Not too far from home, interesting people to meet, plenty of opportunities to do the sort of thing he likes. Maybe he could even go with friends ..."

At that point Joseph entered the room. I knew Stan must have summoned him, but I didn't know how much of our talk he'd communicated. I had no doubt that he, Isabel and Joseph would be having some interesting conversations as a result of my visit.

Stan finished his glass and stood up. Isabel and I rose with him, and Joseph handed me my cell phone as his king said, "I'm sure we'd all be interested to hear anything you have to say, and I appreciate your concern for my second's wellbeing. On your way home you must call in and give us your impressions. And now I won't keep you any longer, I know you still have a way to travel. Please give my greetings to your human when you see her again."

I was being dismissed, but I didn't mind - I had done what I came here to do. There was just one more thing I needed. "You've been very kind, Your Majesty. One last favor - I wonder if Barry Bellboy is around? I promised Sookie I'd pass on her best wishes to him."

His expression didn't change as he said, "Barry's gone down to Houston - my sheriff in Area 2 needed him. You can see him on your return trip; he'll be back in a couple of days."

"Thank you. It wasn't important, but Sookie would be glad to hear how he is. They have some sort of connection which I don't claim to understand."

"Yes, there's a certain rarity value attached to our telepaths, isn't there? I know other monarchs are very envious of us. In fact, Oklahoma made an approach to me quite recently to see if I'd be interested in letting Barry leave my service."

"I take it you said no."

"Of course, but she was very insistent; almost desperate. Increased her offer several times before she accepted my decision. She was quite annoyed at my refusal ..."

* * *

I was very thoughtful as I drove back to the hotel. I had conveyed my message very clearly, and it had been received positively, but I had received some interesting information in return. So Freyda had been putting out feelers to acquire a telepath, had she?

I couldn't wait any longer - I had to speak to Sookie. The bond had been quiet, but at this distance I could not be sure I would pick up anything. I followed signs to nearby Ridgewood Park, where I exited the car and reached for my phone. I hesitated with my finger over the speed-dial, and then changed my mind and called Pam. I needed to check in with her before calling Sookie, in case there was anything I needed to know first.

"Anything to report?" She knew I was asking about Sookie's safety, but pretended to think I was concerned about Fangtasia.

"Crowd's a little thin - it always is when you're not here. I've got Bill on the door - he was useless behind the bar last night. A sour face just puts people off their drinks, but it's quite helpful on security. Hold on ..." there was a brief pause and she said, "I'm just sending you a picture through. His new look's quite interesting."

"Never mind Bill's new look - is there anything happening in Bon Temps?"

She sniffed. "There's _never_ anything happening in Bon Temps. I'd call it a one-horse town but the horse died of boredom."

"Pam!"

"Oh all right." Reluctantly she gave me the information I wanted. "Nothing to report. Heidi called in when she got there. No strange scents in the woods, just the dog who was on guard today." I'd called in some favours from the Longtooth Pack and they were watching Sookie's house and woods while the sun was up.

"Bill's scent?"

A snicker. "He wouldn't have had time - I kept him here all night checking stock and cleaning the restrooms after we closed. I gave him barely enough time to get home before dawn. He even asked if he could sleep here instead but I said no and threw him out. I don't care if he crisps to a cinder."

I agreed - he would be no loss to my people. "Good. See that you keep him busy."

"It'll be a pleasure." She practically purred at the prospect and I rang off. I knew I could rely on her to keep Bill so busy he'd have no time to even think of Sookie, let alone harass her.

My cell beeped as a picture came through, and I laughed out loud at the sight of Bill in fetwear. The leather chaps framed a smallish black PVC pouch (which didn't surprise me) and the studded harness revealed broad shoulders and well-muscled arms (which did). His human life as a farmer probably accounted for the muscles, and bad genes would explain the contents of the thong. His expression was that of a Victorian clergyman forced to visit a brothel and ... I looked a little more closely. Was that _eye-liner_?

A couple out walking their dog quickened their steps at the sight of my shaking shoulders, not wanting to find out what could amuse a vampire so much he had to lean against the nearest tree ...

I pulled myself together and called Sookie. She picked up on the first ring.

"Eric?"

"Who else? Where are you, lover?"

"I'm at home having dinner, where are you?" I was glad to hear that she was safe behind her wards.

"I'm in Dallas, on my way back from visiting Stan. I'll be heading for Oklahoma soon, but I wanted to speak with you. I didn't see Barry - he was troubleshooting elsewhere. I'll try and pass your message on when I come back this way."

"Oh, well never mind. Did Stan have anything useful to say?"

I chuckled. "It's not so much what he said as what _I _said."

There was silence for a few seconds and I realised she was waiting for the details. I hadn't been intending to say any more, but realised that this was probably a good opportunity to try out our new policy of mutual _glasnost_.

I looked around, but there was no-one near me. "Is there anyone with you?"

"Nope, I'm alone. Spill it."

"I have suggested to Stan that his second-in-command Joe Velasquez - you remember him? - is ready to take over a kingdom of his own. I also suggested that Oklahoma would be a good target, for a number of reasons, and offered to spy out its weaknesses for him while I was there."

"Jesus Christ Shepherd of Judea, Eric - that was pretty risky wasn't it? Putting it all out there like that? How did you know Stan wouldn't run to Freyda or Felipe with that?"

I tsked. "I wasn't stupid enough to put it that bluntly - I just made a few random comments about the weather and vacation plans, and he was sharp enough to join the dots."

"The weather?" Even without our bond being complete I could hear her puzzlement, and grinned as I pictured her expression.

"I'll explain when I come home. But the point is, I sowed doubts in his mind about how long he would be able to keep a vampire like Joe under his control. After running Texas while Stan was injured he probably won't be content as a second for ever."

"Isn't he loyal to Stan? I mean, he must have sworn fealty to him."

"Yes, but he's had a taste of power now, and Stan will not want to have to constantly watch his back. If he tries to keep him in Texas Joe may come to resent it, and turn on him. Much better to assist him to the crown of Oklahoma, and have a friend on his northern border who is tied to him by obligation and gratitude as well as friendship."

"Aren't you ever worried about Pam turning on you?"

"No, she's my child; it couldn't happen. Joe is not tied by blood or marriage, but he's served Stan for a long time, and they know each other well. It will also strengthen them both against Felipe."

"What do you mean? Why would they need that?"

"Are you sure you want to discuss this now?" I knew her interest in vampire politics was minimal, but I very much hoped she would remember our conversation of the previous night, and would be open to learning more.

"Well ..." I could hear reluctance in her voice and suppressed a small sigh. Perhaps it was too much to expect her to change overnight. But I was pleasantly surprised when she said, " yeah. Tell me what you think I need to know. Probably better now than while you're in Oklahoma - I'm not sure who'd be listening there."

That was more positive than I had hoped for, and I quickly put my thoughts in order. "I'll explain in detail when I come home, but I believe Felipe has plans to take Texas the way he took Louisiana."

I heard a gasp. "But why? Doesn't he have enough?"

"I don't think the word 'enough' is in his vocabulary - his greed is without limits. But he's discovering that Arkansas and Louisiana have not added much to his power - they are both poor, and they're too far from his home base in Nevada for him to rule effectively. He tried a regent but we know how that worked out, so I think he's turning his attention to greener pastures."

"But I thought he was pretty thinly stretched right now. How could he take down somewhere the size of Texas? Didn't you tell me he only got Louisiana because we were vulnerable with Sophie-Anne being wounded and Andre being dead?" So she had been listening when I'd explained this to her before. I was very pleased that she had been paying attention.

"He couldn't do it on his own - he needs help, and I think he's looking to Freyda. She's on Texas' northern border and is perfectly placed to support him. Louisiana and Arkansas don't have many vampires, but we've given Felipe a lot of trouble recently. Unfortunately, that's given him the perfect excuse to bring a large number of his Nevada people in to control the situation. Stan knows about the death of Victor, and won't be at all surprised at so much vampire activity in Shreveport, even though it's just across his eastern border."

She understood very quickly. "So Felipe's going to launch an attack from _Shreveport?"_

Probably. It's what I'd do if I were him. I'd order all my vampires to make a concerted attack on Texas from the east while Oklahoma attacked from the north and Stan would have to split his forces. Texas has a lot of vampires, and once Felipe has their fealty, he'll launch them all at Arizona and that will give him what he wants - a strip almost clean across the south of the country."

"What about New Mexico?"

"It's part of the vampire kingdom of Arizona - our boundaries don't follow present state lines."

"Shit." I could tell she was thinking hard. "So, why would Freyda help him? What does she get out of it?"

A good question. "Freyda is ambitious and intelligent, but very young - barely 150. She needs all the powerful allies she can get. It's possible she feels that if she doesn't help Felipe, he'll simply take her out too, but with him on her side she could expand northwards if she wanted."

"Do you think they'll want to push further east?"

"I doubt it - you remember Mississippi's marriage with Indiana at the Rhodes summit? While they were there, they negotiated mutual support treaties with Tennessee and Isaiah of Kentucky which essentially linked their kingdoms. If they are attacked they will help each other. There's now a north-south line of allied kingdoms which should halt Felipe's expansionist ambitions in that direction."

"Well that's a relief. So, she gets security if she helps him. What else?"

I sighed. "I think you know what else, lover - she wants me. She needs a strong second to protect her back; she killed her own king, and the problem with doing that is you set an example for the _next_ ambitious vampire. As her consort she believes my loyalty would be assured - I wouldn't be eligible for the throne and if she went down, so would I, so I would have every incentive to protect her. In return for her help Felipe is throwing his weight behind the marriage deal. Once I'm bound by the contract she will probably order me to lead her vampires in the attack on Texas. That's another of the things she wants me for; she doesn't have a competent warleader. And of course, Felipe would rather I was safely in Oklahoma directing the attack. I suspect he thinks if I'm in Louisiana I might be sabotaging him from the rear."

"He's right, isn't he?"

"Absolutely." I chuckled.

She was thoughtful. "So they'd both gain an ally, Freyda'd have a strong second, and Felipe'd get rid of a pain in his ass. Is that about it?"

"That seems a reasonable summary."

"Is that everything?"

"Probably not." I was not going to tell her of Stan's warning yet - I wanted to be with her when I shared that little nugget of information. "Of course, you understand this is mostly conjecture, but it's based on a number of reports from my spies in Nevada and Oklahoma. Each not much in itself, but put them together and there are definite straws in the wind." She appeared to accept the existence of my spy network without question.

"And you told Stan all of this while talking about the weather?"

I smiled at the incredulity in her voice. "I didn't go into detail - I simply warned him that Felipe may be turning his attention to Texas next, while making my own lack of interest in kingship abundantly clear and offering him discreet support from my vampires if he needs it. He will be suitably grateful for the warning and the chance to direct his second's attention to someone else's kingdom."

"Well, I hope he _is _suitably grateful. You were taking one hell of a risk telling him all this."

"Sometimes you need to be willing to take risks if you want to reap the rewards."

"My Gran used to say something like that."

"Really? Was she much of a risk-taker?" I had never met Sookie's grandmother, but I could tell how fond she had been of the old woman.

"Yeah, she used to say something like 'cast your bread on the waters and after many days you will find it again.' I think it's from the Bible."

I chuckled. "It seems an odd thing to do with bread. You may find it again, but surely it would be a lot harder to slice ..."

* * *

The nearer I got to my destination the more I prayed for another flat tire or a Fae attack or even a sudden outbreak of Sino-AIDS; anything to delay my arrival. But the journey came to its inevitable end and by two-thirty my Corvette was pulling into the large semi-circular drive that fronted the mansion where Freyda lived.

It was a large, spotlit, wedding-cake of a building; three stories high, white and excessively ornamented, with lavish grounds from what I could see. As I came to a halt, uniformed flunkies hurried to surround the car. One opened my door, three dived for the cases in the trunk and two more bowed me up the steps and in through the entrance.

Freyda's major-domo was a stately human, who was waiting at the foot of the sweeping staircase. He bowed and said, "welcome sir. I trust you had a good journey? Her Majesty has been most anxious to see you - I believe she expected you some hours ago." His voice was reproachful but I saw no need to justify myself to servants.

"I need to freshen up before I see Her Majesty. Show me to my room."

He bowed again and said, "Of course, sir. Your _suite _is this way, next to Her Majesty's private chambers." He gestured to a footman to lead the way and I followed him up the stairs and along a gallery, taking note of entrance and exit points as I went. The guards seemed alert and well-disciplined at first sight. There were also a great many of them on this floor, and I hadn't missed the bulges under the porters' uniforms. It seemed that Freyda took no chances.

We reached a pair of double-doors and the footman swung them open and stood back. I was not surprised; the dazzle of the ante-chamber was so bright my eyes watered as I entered. It seemed that every surface reflected the light pouring from enormous overhead chandeliers. There was polished marble and gilding everywhere I looked, and I felt as though I was either in a mausoleum or on a stage. I supposed ruefully that this was appropriate; after all, I was here to play a part.

The porters carrying my bags passed me and filed through a door, presumably leading into the bedroom, but I turned when the major-domo coughed significantly. He was ushering four young women into the room. The were all scantily clad, all beautiful and all blonde. "Her Majesty sends you some refreshment, sir," he said. "This is Tanya, Gretchen, Susanna and Petra and they would be honored to supply _all _your needs." Each girl smiled at me charmingly as she was introduced and I would have had to be blind to miss their resemblance to my Sookie. Apparently Freyda didn't want me to miss _anything _about Louisiana at all. How little she knew me...

"I fed before I set out from Dallas." I waved the girls away and turned back to the major-domo. He looked startled at my cavalier dismissal of his queen's gift - the girls were all prime specimens after all - but I simply asked to be shown where the bathroom was and then left in peace. He recovered himself, opened the relevant doors and then took himself off. I showed a little fang to get rid of the porters who were unpacking my belongings, and then took a careful survey of my home for the next few days. Did I say home? I meant prison.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm really sorry I didn't post a chapter last week - I was having surgery and I was just too tired to complete it. It all happened a bit fast, so I didn't have a chance to let you know in advance, and I hate people who post just to let you know they're not posting ...**

**Anyway, I'm feeling better now, so I hope you enjoy it.**

**(Aaaarrgghh! Just heard that Charlaine Harris is going to be in Waterstone's bookshop in a city near me in three weeks time, discussing DEA. She is charging £5 a head for admission. If I didn't have a rooted objection to giving the damn woman a single penny more than I already have, I'd be tempted to go over there and pay my fiver just for the opportunity to ****ask her what the f*** she thought she was doing. Somebody stop me ...)**

**Sorry, rant over *takes deep breath, counts to ten*.**

**Enjoy.**

**AAE**

* * *

Chapter 4

**SPOV**

The next few days were pretty miserable for me. Even though our new bond was not supposed to be affecting me yet, I missed Eric more than I'd thought I would. It was soon clear that he was being kept too busy to phone me, but at least he texted me several times a night.

I always replied as soon as I could, even though I knew he couldn't always read it right then. But sooner or later back would come an answer and it was usually pretty hot. It made me kind of glad he couldn't call me direct - he'd told me his suite was bugged - as he was outrageous enough in print without hearing his sexy voice trying to seduce me into all sorts of things.

Anyway, that was only at night; during the days I made sure I kept busy at Merlotte's. Trade was picking up again now that Vic's Redneck Roadhouse had gone of out business, and Sam was beginning to think about taking on more waitresses, even though it would mean more paperwork. I knew how he hated filling in forms, so I wasn't surprised when I arrived for the lunchtime shift one day and found him hunched over his desk, fists buried in his hair, glaring at his bank statements as though they'd personally offended him.

"Problems?" I asked, and he looked up at me.

"No more'n usual. Just trying to balance my checkbook. I'm nearly four hundred dollars out somewhere."

"Up or down?" That was the most important thing to me.

"Up, but that's not the point. I can't just assume it's right; if I go ahead and spend that four hundred dollars it'll come back and bite me in the ass, surest thing you know. I've been through the entries and added 'em up four times and every time I get a different answer." He sighed gustily. "I dunno, cher, sometimes I wonder if I'm cut out to be a businessman."

"You're a great bar-owner though - people don't come here for the quality of your paperwork."

He smiled slightly and looked back down at the litter on his desk, but the sight only discouraged him, and he grabbed at his hair again. "Try telling that to the IRS."

"Have you considered hiring an accountant for a few hours a week, just to keep you on track?"

"An accountant? I never really thought about it. Probably real expensive, though - those guys charge by the minute."

I'm sure the cost would be worth it to save the wear and tear on your nerves. And your hair. I swear, I think you're losing more hair right now than when you're a collie in shedding season."

"Hmm. I don't know that it would it be worth someone's while coming out here just for that. And do those guys even make house calls?"

"Sure they do. Eric has one for Fangtasia, he comes in three nights a week. You wouldn't need that many hours, but if you like I can ask him for the name of the firm. I know they're trustworthy." I knew that because I'd checked Bruce's replacement out a long time ago. But now Sam was frowning.

"Don't you do that on my account. I don't need any help from him."

I sighed. "Sam, when are you going to get over the fact that Eric and I are a couple and we're gonna stay that way?" I caught a burst from his shifter brain, and it was clear enough for me to know what he was thinking. "Oh, please tell me you don't really hope that he goes to Oklahoma when you know what that'll do to me."

He had the grace to look guilty, and said, "Sorry, Sookie. I don't really, I was just thinking ... ah hell, I don't know." He pushed back from the desk some. "It's not just you and him, although I still think he's not good enough for you. I always hoped you ... well ... that you wouldn't get involved in all the Supe shit that's out there, and he just sucks you in every time."

I kept my temper. Really, I did. There wasn't the faintest trace of snark in my voice as I said, "you mean, you'd rather I hadn't been at that Pack meeting at Alcide's farm?"

He knew exactly what I meant - if I hadn't been _there_, he wouldn't be _here_. But I couldn't be too hard on him; it was only in the last few days I'd started to come to terms with it myself. I remembered what Eric had said the night he left, and my voice softened as I put my hand on Sam's sleeve and tried to put it into my own words.

"I was involved from the day I was born, you know that. I've spent a lifetime either denying or hiding what I am, and I'm just not going to do it any more. I know you're happy not to get involved most of the time, but I've got too many links to the Supe world now; friends, family... I can't just pretend it'll go away, because we both know that's not going to happen."

"I know. It just seems wrong for you, somehow."

"Not really. I never exactly fitted in with the human world, and at least Supes don't treat me like I'm crazy."

"That's because most of us are crazier than you ever were ..." He muttered this, but he was smiling slightly, as if he knew I wouldn't be offended. "Anyhow, I'm gonna try this damn checkbook one more time. Oh yeah, I meant to ask you, would you be okay if I headed into Bon Temps later this afternoon? I've found a new tenant."

"Oh, that's great - do you think this one'll stay?" Sam hadn't had much luck renting out the duplex on Berry Street since Dawn Green got murdered in one half and JB got married and moved out of the other - he'd only found short-term lets.

"Should do. He's the new church worker from the Living Gospel Church in Clarice, where I go. He's due to start work next week and the pastor said on Sunday he hadn't found a place to live yet, so I offered. It's only about a twenty-minute drive so it should suit him."

"Church worker, huh? Sounds like he'd be a good tenant - no wild parties."

"Hope so. He's coming here this afternoon and I'm gonna drive him in, seal the deal, maybe show him around some. If I'm still in here when he turns up, call me would you?"

"Sure. What's he look like?"

"Don't know - never met him. He was appointed before I started attending, but he had to work his notice and he's only just starting now. His name's Casey Dupont."

"Okay. I'll let Kennedy and India know in case I miss him."

"Thanks, cher." He turned back to his paperwork and I headed to the front of the bar to start prepping my tables.

The lunch rush had died down and there were just a few guys still lingering in India's section by the time I next took a breath. They were trying to flirt with her, and having no luck. I was wiping down the last of my tables when the door opened and a sweet voice said, "excuse me. Is Mr Merlotte here, please?"

I turned round to be faced with a tiny, strawberry-blonde woman who had the biggest, warmest hazel eyes I'd ever seen. She was tanned and trim, about thirty, and wearing a pretty floral skirt and a white short-sleeved blouse that wouldn't have lasted five minutes without a stain if I'd had it on. In spite of having just come in out of the sweltering heat, she managed to look cool and fresh, and her smile was as pleasant-looking as the rest of her.

"Sam's out back. Did you want to speak with him?"

"Yes, if it's no trouble. He's expecting me."

"Really? Are you sure? He only had one appointment this afternoon that I know of, and I know he'll be leaving as soon as the guy gets here."

Her face fell. "Oh. Maybe I mistook, but I thought the pastor said today. He was going to show me round an apartment but perhaps I got it wrong."

"New apartment?" Light dawned. "Are you with Mr Dupont? I know Sam was expecting him, is he outside? He should come on in - it's way too warm to be sitting in a car."

She shook her head, the curls bouncing. "No, there's just me." She held out her hand. "I'm Casey Dupont."

I stared before remembering my manners and shaking hands. Instantly I got a read on her, and the fuzzy nature of her thoughts told me she was a twoey of some sort. I wondered if the Living Gospel Church knew who they'd hired, but doubted it. Although Sam was making friends there now, I remembered the demonstrators outside the bar after the Great Reveal. "Oh, I'm sorry - I didn't mean to be rude. It's just Sam said you ... well, to be honest, he was expecting a man."

She smiled. "Oh, don't you worry about that, I get it all the time. My name's Katarina Charlotte, but that was such a mouthful I've been called by my initials pretty much all my life. K. C. get it? Much easier." She suddenly looked worried. "It won't make a difference will it? My being a woman? I really need a place to stay, and pastor Jermyn didn't say it was men-only."

"No, no - Sam won't have any issues with that, I promise you. Anyway, I'm Sookie Stackhouse, and I'm Sam's partner - business partner," I added hastily. I didn't want her getting the wrong idea. "Would you like a cold drink while I go get him for you?"

"Thank you, Sookie, that'd be real nice."

I didn't need to look round to know that the late lunchers were checking her out, and I made a quick decision. I showed her to a table I'd already cleared, well away from the other customers. Then I got her a soda and called to Sam through the open doorway. I didn't want to leave such an innocent lamb within range of some of those predators, but I also didn't warn him that his new tenant might not be quite what he was expecting. I dropped my shields, wanting to get his reaction...

After the initial surprise, it was favorable. _Real _favorable on both sides. Although I couldn't get the details I heard enough from them to think that maybe here was something that would distract Sam from his memories of Jannalyn ...

He didn't take off straight into town with her, but got himself a beer and joined her at the table. The other guys finished their food and headed out, one or two casting longing looks in Casey's direction, but she didn't appear to even notice them - she was focussed entirely on whatever Sam was saying.

I winked at India and we busied ourselves well away from their table for the next twenty minutes until they left. Casey smiled a goodbye and said thanks for the soda, and then Kennedy joined us and we all three pressed our noses to the windows, watching as Sam escorted her to the little white van she'd arrived in. Our eyes widened as he held the door open for Casey before hurrying to his own truck to lead the way into Bon Temps.

"Did I just see Sam Merlotte being gallant?" said Kennedy. "That makes a change."

"Hey, Sam has good manners - it's just some women don't appreciate it."

"That's true enough. Jannalyn would probably have smacked him upside the head if he'd tried to do that for her." India was right of course, but I figured Casey was the sort of woman who would bring the gentleman out in a guy.

We went back to prepping our tables for the evening shift, but I was smiling. Somehow I thought Sam wouldn't be thinking of his checkbook again any time soon ...

**EPOV**

The first thing I did when alone was search my suite very thoroughly. I found no fewer than fifteen surveillance devices, of which five were in my bedroom and three in the bathroom. I left them all in place - I was not stupid enough to let Freyda think I had anything to hide - except for the tiny camera hidden in the shower; that one I winked at as I hung a towel over the lens...

I took my time showering and changing, and when I finally opened the door to my suite I found two footmen loitering outside, waiting to show me to the Queen's chambers. It hardly seemed necessary to escort me the twenty yards that lay between her door and mine, but I got the feeling that this was simply a taste of my future life if I became her consort.

The major-domo was outside Freyda's suite and he bowed me in, saying, "Her Majesty is waiting for you, sir."

He led me across the ante-chamber, before opening a door and announcing, "Sheriff Northman, Your Majesty." Freyda was seated on a French Empire couch at the far end of a large, high-ceilinged room, which was hung in gold and grey silk. My footsteps echoed on the mosaic floor as I approached her, taking in the opulence and wondering if this was her personal taste. Late Neo-classical seemed to predominate, with statuary and pillars everywhere.

As I drew near she rose gracefully and came to meet me. She was very tall, approaching six feet, and she moved like a dancer, inhabiting her dress of bronze silk like a second skin. I wondered briefly what her history was.

"Eric! At last." I bowed slightly and followed her back to the couch, allowing her to sit down before taking a seat next to her. "I was beginning to think you'd never get here."

"I'm sorry for the delay - I wanted to clean up a little first from my trip."

"You should have travelled with me - you would have been much more at ease and would have been here sooner." I didn't see any need to comment. After a brief pause she continued, "Well, you're here now. Is your suite comfortable?"

"Very, thank you."

"Good. Those are the official consort's rooms. When we're married you can have them decorated or arranged to reflect your own taste." She indicated our surroundings with a wave of her hand and said, "I hope you don't mind meeting in here rather than in one of the public reception rooms. This is much more intimate."

Intimate? It was about as intimate as a morgue, but I wasn't going to say so; my job here was to placate her and gain time. "This is fine."

She smiled. "It's good to see you alone at last - there always seemed to be people around when we met in Louisiana, and phone-calls are never satisfactory."

"True." I carefully refrained from glancing round the room at the half a dozen human servants standing motionless against the walls, awaiting orders. I made myself put my hand on hers. "Personal contact is always better."

Her eyes glowed slightly. "Now, let me tell you what I've got arranged for your visit. We're going to have such fun ..."

Looking over her plans, I was glad that I had packed plenty of formal clothing; it quickly became obvious that I was going to be put on display whether I liked it or not. The list of events included balls, parties, parades and torchlight rodeos and, as if that were not enough, there were public and private audiences, council meetings, press conferences and civic receptions.

It was beyond galling to me that, having escaped Ocella so many centuries ago, I should now find myself bound by his will even after his death. It was an added insult that he had sold me to a much younger vampire. But there was no help for it; until my plans came to fruition I would have to grin and bear it.

o

For the next few nights I escorted Freyda everywhere, stood at her side to receive distinguished visitors and made myself pleasant to everyone I met, keeping my opinions to myself.

She made it clear that nothing was too good for the consort-elect; my life was clearly going to be drowned in luxury if I chose to ally myself with her. I was gracefully consulted on almost everything, my tastes were considered, my opinion was sought and all my questions were answered, but amid the glitter and the deference, I wasn't allowed to actually _do _anything. It was all "when we're married ..." She was dangling a glittering prospect before me, and I allowed myself to appear dazzled by it.

Everywhere I went with my guard of honor - oh yes, I was _very _carefully guarded - the Queen's subjects gathered to see me, to welcome me and (in many cases) to offer themselves to me. Apparently every human in the palace had been ordered to make themselves available for my use, but they gave the impression that they were quite happy at the prospect; I met languishing looks and breathless come-ons whichever way I turned; it seemed almost fashionable to declare yourself to be in love with the Queen's chosen.

Freyda didn't mind - she had no interest in me sexually beyond the annual conjugal requirement and she had her own pets - but her pride dictated that her consort had to be a match for her in looks and charisma, which was one of the reasons she had chosen me. She offered me my choice of her pets, but I politely declined; they were all lovely, but Sookie was lovelier to me, and I had decided I would not live-feed while I was here. I had promised her I would not betray her.

I remembered how hurt she had been when I had fed from Kym Rowe; she had refused to accept that the scent of Claude's blood had made the fangbanger completely irresistible to me. I didn't understand why she found this so hard to believe - she had seen what happened when we encountered Fae blood - but I was not going to hurt her that way again; I would rather go hungry.

For five nights Freyda barely let me out of her sight and I smiled and waved to the crowds, admired and complimented everything I saw, and kept my eyes and ears open.

My only relief was my contact with Sookie. I derived a perverse pleasure from texting her several times every night, right under Freyda's nose. I had observed one or two discreet sneers from some of the other vampires when they saw the cell phone I had brought with me - it was a slightly older model, with buttons rather than a touchscreen - but I didn't care. It was useful for texting 'blind'. I had memorised the alpha-numerical keys and could send a text perfectly easily while the phone was still in my pocket.

I couldn't conceal that I was reading her replies, but I explained to Freyda that I still had an Area to run, and that I needed to be in touch with my people even when absent. Pam was instructed to report to me nightly, and I showed Freyda one or two of her messages as proof. She was pleased to think that I was so dedicated and she hoped that I would be equally diligent in her service ...

For the same reason, she was pleased when I asked questions about her kingdom. It gave her the opportunity to demonstrate exactly what I would be gaining, and it gave me the opportunity to look for weaknesses. There _had _to be weaknesses. Freyda had killed her predecessor, but had retained most of his advisors; that amount of experience was far too valuable to waste when you were new to ruling a kingdom. Someone had to be unhappy about the takeover.

The most productive part of the week for me had been watching the drilling of her guards in the huge training and security areas below her palace. These vampires would be my responsibility if I came to Oklahoma, and I studied them with close attention. She chose to interpret my interest in a positive light, but I was simply studying their tactics and skills for my own purposes. Anything I could pass on to Texas might be useful.

I studied the servants too - discontent always showed up there first. Every night there were at least a dozen waiting outside my suite as I retired, and every night I chose a different one to attend to me and lay out my clothes for the next night. That made it much less suspicious when I picked Ramon on the night before I was due to leave. Ramon was a slender, dark young man who was discreet, unobtrusive, efficient and, most importantly, _already on my payroll_.

I had mentioned to Sookie that I had spies in Oklahoma, just as Freyda had spies in Louisiana, but I doubted Freyda knew I had inserted one into her palace as soon as I detected her operative, Felicia.

Felicia would not have been my first choice for the job of spy - she was attractive, but not overburdened in the intellect department, and she made some very elementary mistakes. Her most significant error had been dating Bobby Burnham, my late dayman, in a somewhat obvious attempt to find out some of my secrets. It was a bad mistake, partly because she had clearly forgotten that she'd already told Sookie she wasn't interested in men, but mainly because her association with Bobby cost her her life.

What she had failed to realise was that I didn't trust Bobby with anything vital (in fact I didn't trust _anyone _other than Pam and Sookie), and any new vampire who came into my Area was considered a spy until they proved otherwise. Palomino and her nest-mates had been suspect when they first arrived, claiming to be refugees from Katrina, but their stories checked out at every level. Even so, I deliberately involved them heavily in the plot to kill Victor, thus tying them to me with tighter bonds than mere gratitude. They knew that if I suffered for his death, so would they...

One of the reasons I had chosen Ramon as my mole was his humanity; suspicion was less likely to fall on him because of it. Most vampires wouldn't use humans for their espionage work, believing them to be too breakable to survive, and too vulnerable to being glamored. However, Long Shadow had taught me it was perfectly possible to implant a command in a human mind to prevent them from revealing information.

Pam and I had both questioned Ginger about the money missing from my bar, but neither of us had picked up a hint that she was already glamored. The mental block which Long Shadow had put in place had been subtle - nothing like the butchery that Godric had inflicted on Re-Bar - and only Sookie's unique skills had revealed it, so I knew it was undetectable if done properly. I thought it might be a useful skill, did some research and discovered that the technique was something the original Native American vampires had developed. I found a vampire online, called Two Feathers, who was willing to teach me , and I had practised on random humans at Fangtasia until Pam assured me that she couldn't detect what I had done. Then, when Ramon had presented himself to me, begging to be allowed to replace Bobby as my dayman, it was an opportunity too good to be wasted. I promised the human that he could have the job if he proved himself worthy. The test of his loyalty, initiative and discretion was spying for me in Oklahoma for six months without getting caught, and I had carefully glamored him to plausibly deny all prior knowledge of me.

That night when the servants lined up for me to make my choice I apparently hesitated between two or three of them before pointing at Ramon and saying, "you will do. The rest of you can go." He bowed and remained behind while the others dispersed, casting him looks of envy.

I unlocked my suite and Ramon entered behind me. I said, "run me a bath, and make sure it's hot." He immediately headed for the bathroom - another place where marble reigned supreme. It was the last word in luxury, with a steam shower, a vast sunken tub and an entire wall of mirrors. I took my time undressing and pulling on a robe, listening to the water running, and when I finally opened the door, the steam billowed out to meet me. The human was just a blur in the warm, damp haze. It was like a sauna in there - just what I wanted...

I shed my robe and climbed into the tub, making quite a splash as I did so, ordering Ramon to attend me, as I had done each of the servants for the previous few nights. For the next few minutes I made appropriate bathing noises, issuing occasional commands, which he acknowledged with deferential murmurs. Anyone listening would have heard exactly what they would expect to hear.

If they had been watching they would have seen something quite different ...

I had thought for some time about the best method of communicating with my spy without leaving any trace, and in the end I had decided the simplest approach was the best. I climbed silently out of the bath and moved to the mirrored wall.

Quickly I wrote on the steamed-up surface with my finger. _What do you have to report?_

Then I stepped back and looked at him enquiringly.

He smiled broadly as he realised what I wanted. Then he thought for a few seconds before his own finger began moving swiftly and silently across the glass. I watched and read, issuing occasional random commands and splashing my hand in the bath to keep up the pretence. All vampires enjoyed bathing, so no-one would be the least surprised if I chose to linger in the warmth and luxury.

Gradually his words filled up the mirrored surface and I committed them to memory as the rising steam obliterated them. As a domestic servant in the palace, he had access to a great many areas, and was largely unnoticed. Freyda's attitude towards the human staff in her suite was typical of most vampires - she treated them like extensions to the furniture and was remarkably indiscreet in their presence. This meant that, like all servants throughout history, Ramon knew far more than his employers ever guessed. I had encouraged him to gossip constantly with his fellows, and he had used his opportunities well.

Security codes, passwords, guard shift patterns, numbers of employees, discontented humans who could be bought, vampires with dirty secrets or debts who could be blackmailed or threatened - all these and more were laid out in neat lines for me to study and use.

I wrote occasional questions, and in answer he sketched out the layout of the areas under the palace. Although I had visited some of them, I hadn't given away my interest by lingering and some sections had been off-limits. Naturally, those were the ones that interested me the most.

The prison-block data had been the hardest to obtain, and it was incomplete. Freyda had a number of detention cells below ground and Ramon had found the names of most of the prisoners, plus the reasons for their captivity, but there was one cell which was separate from the others, and was much more heavily guarded; vampires at night, Weres during the day. Ramon hadn't been able to get any information on that one at all, and hadn't wanted to make the guards suspicious, so he'd had to leave it.

There was one piece of information I was particularly interested in. After Felicia had finally died, I had kept a careful watch for whatever replacement Freyda sent; there was no doubt that she would send one, but there had been no suspicious activity in or around Fangtasia or my home. I was frustrated at my lack of success, and had ordered Ramon to concentrate his efforts on solving this puzzle. I knew it would not be easy, as Freyda kept all her documentation locked up beyond reach, but I had a trick up my sleeve that I had learned from Parker, one of Palomino's nest-mates. Once I was sure of their loyalty, I had commissioned him to upgrade Fangtasia's computer systems. Pam had also taken his advice when buying new office equipment, and I had overheard part of a conversation which made me prick up my ears.

Although I had zero interest in technology for its own sake, it seemed as though the new generation of photocopiers had a little-known but potentially very useful feature; They contained a hard drive, which kept a digital copy of everything that was copied on them. This could be accessed and downloaded by someone who knew what they were doing, and I had passed that information on to Ramon, hoping that Freyda might have ordered something incriminating copied.

Now he wrote that he had been able to swap shifts with another member of the domestic staff, who had been assigned to clean Freyda's office, and he had downloaded the entire contents of the photocopier onto a datastick. He hadn't been able to bring it tonight - there was too much risk - but he'd skimmed it briefly before mailing it to Fangtasia where I could examine it in safety and at leisure when I returned.

This was what I had hoped for. I wrote_ Anything of immediate interest?_

_I found a report on the death of someone called Kym Rowe. _The pathetic fangbanger who had been killed outside my home. That was very odd; as far as I knew, she had no connection with Oklahoma.

_Who was the report for?_

_Freyda. _Why would Freyda want that? I remembered she had shown a complete lack of interest while I had been mired to the neck in trouble, asking no questions either during or after the events. I had been surprised at the time, as I had hoped that if my reputation was damaged it might reduce her interest in me as a potential consort, but she hadn't even mentioned it. I frowned a little. Maybe she didn't need to ask questions because she'd already received all the information she wanted. But from what source? I wrote again

_Who sent the report?_

_There was no name - just initials_

I raised an eyebrow in query, and followed Ramon's finger eagerly as it traced out the incriminating letters.

They were

_W. C._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**EPOV**

W. C.

William fucking Compton.

I might have guessed. No wonder I hadn't been able to find anything suspicious about the new vampires entering my Area - _the spy was already in place!_ I had to admire Freyda's cunning.

I gestured to Ramon to wipe away his handiwork and he did so thoroughly - there would be no trace left. Meanwhile I provided appropriate sound effects, and then dismissed him and went through to my bedchamber, where I texted Pam. I had to warn her not to let Compton anywhere near my computer at Fangtasia until I got home. I also instructed her to make sure his cell phone had an accident; I needed to minimise any damage he could cause.

Then I packed my belongings, ready for an early departure the next night. I went to bed and lay turning over the new information in my head as dawn approached. It appeared that dear Bill was still happily doing dirty work for a Queen, and I wondered what she had offered him to betray his Sheriff and what other information he had passed to her.

At least last time he had been able to plead his oath of fealty to Sophie-Anne - he could not refuse to obey her. This time he had no such excuse - Freyda wasn't his Queen, so he could only be doing it for personal gain, and what he hoped to gain was obvious: she had told him that with me out of the way, he could go after Sookie. I doubted that Freyda had mentioned her own interest in my little Fairy's skills to him ...

It was ironic, really; Bill thought my being safe in Oklahoma would improve his chances with Sookie, but I knew the news of his latest treachery would be the final nail in the coffin of her trust in him, if one was even needed. I had been very pleased with my lover's behaviour the last time we'd seen him, and had enjoyed his reaction to her charmingly dishevelled appearance as she pressed against me on the couch.

It had always been a source of huge frustration to me that Compton had found it so easy to seduce Sookie. She had been innocent, trusting and in need of a sympathetic ear, and she had fallen into his hands like a piece of ripe fruit, with no effort at all on his part. Then his betrayal had wounded her so deeply that she had locked herself away inside her emotional armour, and I had been left trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered trust. I didn't blame her, but I _did _blame him for a lot of the problems I was having to deal with. Had I been her first lover, she would never have been damaged so deeply ...

XxXxXxXx

The next night I summoned a servant as soon as I was dressed, and ordered my bags taken to my car, then I presented myself at the Queen's chambers. She was still feeding from a handsome blond when I was admitted, but she left him as soon I was announced, patting her mouth with a linen napkin. He bowed his head respectfully to me, but didn't get up from where he lay sprawled on her couch. She hadn't sealed his vein - evidently she hadn't finished with him yet - and a whiff of his blood drifted across to me. It was pleasantly fresh and tangy and reminded me how very hungry I was.

I put it out of my thoughts and greeted Freyda politely.

She said, "Eric - I didn't expect you this early. What can I do for you? Or is something wrong?"

Her dark-brown eyes were piercing, but I smiled pleasantly and said, "Nothing is wrong here, but I'm afraid I have come to take my leave. I need to return to Louisiana a little sooner than I'd anticipated. A minor crisis, but Pam has requested my presence."

"Can't she handle it on her own?"

"I'm afraid not. She's a bit insecure without her maker around - she likes to have me nearby for moral support. She's a very good fighter, but doesn't have much in the way of initiative and she's inclined to panic unnecessarily." I cringed inwardly at the thought of what Pam would say if she knew how I was describing her, but I had to hope she would never find out.

I knew Freyda had seen Pam in Louisiana, but my child had been grieving for the death of Miriam, and couldn't be bothered to object when Freyda treated her as a lackey. She had simply run her errands, answered her questions and then withdrawn into herself. This was ideal for my purposes, as it gave colour to my description of her. Freyda nodded, and said, "I must admit, she struck me as a bit weak when we met. I was surprised that you would choose someone like that for a child, Eric. No spirit at all; she's nothing like you."

I shrugged and threw my child further under the bus. "She's very biddable. And loyal, of course. And she runs my business competently, which is mostly what I use her for."

"So what's this crisis?"

"An unknown vampire has been sighted in Shreveport. I don't like strangers in my Area - I always check them out very thoroughly and Pam knows that her instincts for spotting a spy aren't as well developed as mine. She'll do her best, but doesn't like the thought that she might miss something. She knows you can never be too careful."

"I agree. I always treat any new vampires as potential spies. The only vampires I trust are those who have been in my service for some time." I had to admit she was very good; there wasn't a trace of smugness in her voice and her expression seemed completely sincere as she gently directed my attention away from her mole ...

"Same here. But you can see why I need to go. And I was always planning on leaving tonight, this has only brought it forward by a few hours."

"Oh, very well. It seems a pity, when I still had plans for us. There's so much you haven't seen yet."

I smiled pleasantly. "I think I've seen enough. Your hospitality has been ... overwhelming."

She preened. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. We're very lucky here in Oklahoma, with the oil wealth, the casinos and such a large vampire population. So many opportunities." Her implication was that _I _was very lucky to have this particular opportunity. I knew there were a lot of vampires interested in her, but as far as I was concerned, they could have her. "Once we're married you will have far more subjects than you currently do - I haven't shown you even half of what you will enjoy when the contract is signed. Speaking of which..." she rang a bell and when a chamberlain entered she said, "fetch me the green despatch box from my study."

While we waited she offered me a drink from her pet, but I declined. She pouted. "I don't believe you've fed at all this week."

"I'm very old - I don't need to take much to maintain my strength."

"We'll have to make some sort of arrangement for when you're living here permanently. Or do you plan on bringing anyone with you?" She was clearly fishing to see if I had any plans to keep Sookie as a pet, even when we were divorced.

I decided to test the waters a little, just to see how she would react. Bill knew Sookie and I had been fighting recently, and I was certain he had reported as much to Freyda. He would have played up the rift between us to her, to minimise her concerns over my attachment to Sookie. I doubted if our show of unity at my house had convinced him that our relationship was secure; he was a self-deceiver of astonishing talent, only believing what suited his version of reality.

Witness the fact that he still pursued Sookie even though she had made it abundantly clear that he had no chance with her ever again. Because he wanted me to go to Oklahoma and Sookie to stay in Bon Temps, available to him, he had probably convinced himself that this is what would happen. No doubt he thought as soon as I was out of the picture she would fall into his arms...

I said, "I shall only bring my agreed vampire retinue. There will be no need to bring any humans; from what I've seen, I'll have plenty of choice when it comes to suitable donors." I nodded at her current meal, and she smiled, but her next words were very revealing.

"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to bring a pet. Your ex, for example. I hear she's quite tasty." Although she kept her tone casual I was far from convinced.

I hid a smile. For a woman who had initially made it quite clear I would have to separate from Sookie, even going so far as to visit her and warn her away from me, it seemed odd that she was prepared to tolerate her presence now. Maybe once she realised that Stan was not going to give up Barry, she had been forced to reconsider Sookie's value.

She no doubt believed that, once she had us both in Oklahoma, it would be simple to keep us apart while controlling each of us for her own purposes. She didn't know either of us very well; I was not in the habit of giving up control to anyone except my late maker, and as for Sookie - I smiled inwardly as I thought of my lover. She would co-operate if she felt like it, but I had yet to meet anyone who could control her against her will, vampire or human.

I ignored Freyda's premature description of Sookie as my _ex _and my tone was cold as I said, "Sookie will not be joining me. She has made it clear she has her own life and she doesn't plan on disrupting it for my sake."

I could see Freyda didn't know what to make of that. After a minute she said, "of course, she will have to come here for the wedding - the divorce will need to be public so there can be no doubt as to the legitimacy of our contract."

Hmm. As far as I was aware, there was no legal requirement for the divorce to be any more public than the original marriage had been, but I played along to see where Freyda's mind was heading.

"We can divorce quietly in Shreveport."

"It would be better to do it here. Get it all out of the way at once, with all our lawyers present." Mm, she was _very _keen to have Sookie in Oklahoma. No doubt her stay would be extended by force if necessary...

Just then there was a knock at her door and the chamberlain came in carrying a box. Freyda nodded for him to give it to me. It was very heavy, and I flipped open the lid. Inside there was a four-inch high stack of closely-printed paper.

The draft marriage contract.

This was not the document signed in blood, by both Freyda and my maker, which committed me to the marriage; this was the full contract, setting out the details of my life for the next one hundred years. Ocella had negotiated a rough draft, which I had seen, but sections of it were open to discussion; as I had told Sookie, I had some wriggle-room, and I was going to make the most of that.

Meanwhile, we both had to sign the preliminary agreement listing the lawyers who would be conducting negotiations on our behalf. I flipped the top page, found the section listing the names, and checked it carefully. When I was satisfied, I signed both copies and passed them to Freyda who did the same. She looked strangely triumphant as the chamberlain witnessed the signatures and I put one copy back in the box, handing the other to her. I closed the lid and said, "We can begin formal negotiations as soon as I have given this to my attorney."

"Of course. Desmond Cataliades." Freyda had not been happy that I had chosen the demon lawyer to represent me. She had been trying to persuade me to change my mind, but I had stuck to my guns and now that his name was set down it could not be changed except by his death. As he was immortal, that was an unlikely contingency.

"He's agreed to represent me, yes, but he's a little difficult to get hold of at the moment." I was confident that he would remain so; his extended absence was an integral part of my delaying tactics.

Freyda smiled. "Why don't you give him a ring now, while you're here? You never know, you might be lucky - he keeps odd hours."

I shrugged and reached for my phone. I had already briefed Cataliades not to accept my calls. I hit the speed-dial and it was answered on the third ring.

"Yes?" I recognised the voice of Diantha, Cataliades' niece, but only just. She sounded as though she had a cold, but demons didn't get ill so I put it down to a bad line.

"Mr Cataliades, please. This is Eric Northman."

"HoldonI'llseeifhe'saround." I appreciated her playing along; she had been part of my conference with Cataliades when we'd discussed what we could do to hinder the wedding, but she knew any other vampires with me would be able to hear both halves of the conversation.

There was a brief pause while I waited for her to come back and say he was unavailable, and then to my astonishment I heard the demon lawyer's voice. "Sheriff Northman, how nice to hear from you. How can I help you tonight?"

What the hell? I didn't believe for a moment he'd forgotten our agreement - he had chuckled heartily when I had told him what I was planning. He'd not only agreed to be unavailable for at least a month, but he'd guaranteed to find as many reasons as he possibly could for tying up Freyda's lawyers in legal red tape. He had sworn he would keep them busy for a year if necessary, and now here he was answering his phone!

"I ... Mr Cataliades! I didn't think I'd ... I hope I'm not interrupting you."

"Not at all, I'm always happy to speak to you."

What was going on? I tried again. "Are you sure? I know how busy you are."

But he replied, "As it happens I have a little free time at the moment. What can I do for you? Something in connection with your marriage contract, perhaps?"

Fuck! I glanced at Freyda and she was smiling gently as she listened in. I pulled myself together; I had to continue the charade now I had started it. "Yes ... yes, that's exactly it. As you know, I'm in negotiation with Freyda of Oklahoma and I have the contract now for you to look over." My hopes were fading as I made one final attempt. "I know it's quite a big job ..."

He said, "That's no problem at all, Sheriff, I've given you my word and it will be a privilege to assist you in this matter. I understand completely, it's something you'd want dealt with as soon as possible, and I'll be happy to give it my fullest attention. When can you get it to me? I'm not in Louisiana at the moment, I'm at my Memphis office for the next few days but I can send Diantha to pick it up so that I can get started straight away if you like."

My mind was working fast, trying to process this new turn of events, but I snatched at this opportunity. "No, I'm not in Louisiana either. I'm in Oklahoma, but I was just about to set out for home. I'll bring it to you myself, if you don't mind, I can easily make a detour. The sooner you can get started on it, the better." That would sound good for Freyda, and if I saw him face to face, I would be able to find out what was going on.

"Of course - will you make it tonight, do you think?"

"I will if I leave immediately. Give me your address, and I'll see you in about eight hours." I was glad I had already made preparations to leave, and at least this would prevent Freyda from detaining me any longer. It would also prevent me from visiting Texas again on my way home, but this was suddenly much more important.

"I'll look forward to it."

He disconnected and I put away my phone, before looking at Freyda. She was still smiling, but now there was a faint hint of triumph as she said, "That was lucky - he's usually so busy. You must be a favoured client for him to drop whatever else he's working on." She stood up and glided towards me. "We'll be celebrating our wedding before you know it."

"Let us hope so. But you'll have heard that, if I'm to make Memphis before dawn I must leave immediately."

"Of course. Safe journey, Eric, and I will expect to see you here again very soon."

I bent over her hand, glad to be spared any elaborate farewell ceremonies she might have had planned, and then made my escape, my mind racing at what had just happened.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

As soon as I left Oklahoma City on the 40 I pulled over to the side of the road and checked my Corvette thoroughly for bugs. There was one under the seat, two inside the air conditioning vents and one behind the logo at the centre of the steering wheel. I took a childish pleasure in reversing the car over them before driving on and calling Sookie for the first time in a week.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, my lover. Are you well?"

"Eric! Are you on your way home?"

"Not quite yet." I explained my detour to Memphis, and she was very disappointed that I would not be returning to her tonight, but she was as much at a loss as I was to explain Cataliades' strange behaviour. We had been relying on him to give us some breathing space, but I was beginning to think we might not be able to depend on him for that.

Her fear was audible as we discussed it, but so was her belief in me as she said, "I'm sure you'll find a way out, honey. Freyda's not going to win - you won't allow it." Her faith warmed me, and I changed the subject, asking her what she had been doing this week.

"I took Michele for her final fitting for her wedding dress and I've been getting ready for her bridal shower."

I grunted non-commitally. Pam had described the concept to me, and I was glad it appeared to be a women-only event. "Is this shower taking place after dark?"

"No, it's tomorrow afternoon. I haven't been out at night since you left - I promise. The wards haven't been triggered, and I haven't seen anything of Bill either."

"Good. Stay inside tonight, and tomorrow I'll be home. And speaking of Compton ..." I told Sookie what I had discovered. As I had suspected, she was outraged at his treachery.

"W. C! That should stand for whiny coward, not William Compton. That two-faced son of a bitch. Well, if he ever comes round here again I'll stake his treacherous ass my own self..." her voice trailed off for a minute as a thought struck her. Then she said, "if he's working for Freyda, that explains how he knew so much about her and what she wanted when she was here. I thought maybe he knew all that stuff because of his database, but that doesn't explain why what he was saying sounded awfully like what she was saying."

"What exactly did he say to you?"

She was reluctant to tell me, but eventually she did so. I grew more and more angry as I realised how Bill had used the opportunity to rub salt into Sookie's wounds over Freyda's desirability as a mate and her supposed compatibility with me. He had subtly drawn a contrast between Freyda and Sookie that would make Sookie question why I wanted to be with her ...

I knew her insecurities, and I also knew Bill's tendency to undermine her whenever he could. He claimed to love her, yet he didn't hesitate to put her down. I, on the other hand, was going to do everything I could to show her how proud of her I was, and how much I trusted and loved her.

We talked a little while longer, and over the next twenty miles or so I encouraged her to vent her anger against Bill. Every time I thought she had finished, she said, "and another thing ..."

Most of what she was saying I already knew, but then she startled me by saying, "and another thing - I want to see that report on Kym's death. I'll just bet there's more to that than we realise."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, some of the stuff Bill told me never did tie up. I mean, if Jannalynn Hopper killed Kym, did you never stop to wonder why Bill didn't pick up her scent on the lawn? And I know he knew her scent because I gave him her jacket."

"You did _what?" _The steering-wheel jerked in my hands and I hastily straightened the car before it drifted over the line.

Now she sounded guilty. "I guess I never told you, huh? I ...um ... borrowed Jannalynn's jacket and gave it to Bill to see if the scent was familiar to him. He denied it, which doesn't make sense if she was the killer. I mean, I can understand missing her scent in the backyard, so many people came and went that way, but people weren't treading all over your lawn until the body was found, so whoever did it must have left a good fresh scent. And why didn't he see her? He said Jannalynn broke her neck - he even ..." she gasped. "Jesus Christ Shepherd of Judea!"

"What? Sookie, what's wrong?"

I could hear her breathing speed up as she clearly processed some information. When she finally spoke, her voice was little more than a whisper. "Eric, what if _Bill _killed Kym Rowe and glamored Jannalynn into admitting it? I mean, when he told me she'd had her neck broken, he even _demonstrated _how it was done. I remember being icked out at the time. And if he killed her, that's why no-one noticed Jannalynn's scent near the body - because it _wasn't there!_"

"Sookie, calm down. We must think clearly about this. Are you saying that you gave Bill some of Jannalyn's clothing _after _he and Heidi had checked for scents round my house, and that he didn't recognise it?"

"Yup, that's what I'm saying."

"And what did Heidi say?"

"Um ... when Bill told me he didn't recognise the scent I didn't bother Heidi with it. I just took the jacket back before it was missed."

"So Heidi never had an opportunity to associate anything she scented with Jannalynn?"

"I guess not."

I was silent for a moment, thinking about this. "So, why would Bill want Kym Rowe dead?"

"Maybe he wanted to cause even more trouble between you and me? I know he tried to persuade me that you killed her so there'd be nothing to remind us of you feeding from her."

I hadn't known that, but I wasn't surprised. It was fortunate that traffic was light and the road was straight, as I was driving largely by instinct, focussed on what Sookie was suggesting. "It's possible. Even probable. And he was the only person at the front of the house, so he certainly had the opportunity."

"Surely there must be more to it than that? I mean, I know he's jealous of us, but killing someone just to make us fight seems extreme, even for Bill. Don't you think?"

"It may have been on orders from Freyda. If she could drive a wedge between us, it would loosen my ties to Louisiana, make it less tempting for me to stay. And do you remember Fangtasia was attacked - someone threw white paint over the outside? Maybe that was another attempt to persuade me it was time to move on ..."

"Jeez, you could be right. But can we prove any of it?"

"I don't know - we'll have to wait and see what is on the datastick. Pam will keep it safe at Fangtasia for me."

"As long as she doesn't let Bill anywhere near the mail before you get home."

"A good point. I think I'll call her and warn her about that. Incidentally, have you rescinded Bill's invitation?"

"Yup, did it first thing after you left. He's not coming in my house again."

"I'm glad to hear it, lover. _I'm_ the only person who should be coming in your house."

She groaned and I could almost see her rolling her eyes at the innuendo. Just then I heard the doorbell "Are you expecting anyone?"

"It's just Holly - she promised she'd bring Casey over to help finish getting ready for the shower."

"Casey? Who is that?" I didn't like the idea of new people showing up at Sookie's house just now.

"She's just moved into town and doesn't know many people yet, so we invited her to the shower. Sam says she's a fantastic cook and she wants to help out with the food, and I'm never one to turn down offers of help." I could hear her moving through the house to the front hall.

"The shifter? How does he know her? Is she trustworthy?"

"Yup - she's a church worker in Clarice and I checked her mind. She's exactly what she says she is. She's renting one of Sam's apartments, and he's really taken with her. I mean _really _taken with her."

Hmm. Someone to distract the shifter's attention from Sookie could only be good, in my opinion. Still, it was important not to relax her vigilance.

"Check that it is really your friend before you open the door."

"Of course, I can see her through the window. And don't worry - everything'll be cleared away before you get here. What time do you expect to get in tomorrow night?" I could hear the bolts being drawn back from the front door as she spoke. I was glad she was being sensible.

"Expect me around two."

"I'll see you then, honey. 'Bye." Feminine voices were audible in the background as Sookie disconnected, and I focussed on the highway again. She had given me a great deal to think about during the rest of the drive.

XxXxXxXx

I made it to Memphis with forty minutes to spare, calling ahead to reserve a room at the Starlight Hotel. Then I called Cataliades again to ask him to meet me there as I wouldn't be able to get to his office and then reach the hotel before dawn.

This time he didn't come to the phone, but Diantha said she would pass the message on and make sure he kept the appointment.

He arrived shortly after I had checked in, and I had the green box waiting on the coffee table. When his knock came, I barely took the time to check his identity through the peephole before opening the door and allowing him in.

I had intended to tear into him for breaking our deal so spectacularly, but he pre-empted me by apologising almost before the door was closed.

"Mr Northman, I'm so sorry. I truly am." At the hopeless tone in his voice, I stopped short and took a good look at him. He looked ghastly - his skin pale and somehow sagging from his large frame, his eyes sunken, his shoulders drooping in his wrinkled jacket. Something was clearly wrong, beyond my own concerns.

I sat down and waved him to a seat opposite me.

"Tell me."

He sighed. "Please don't think that was easy for me - I hated having to go back on our arrangement, but I'm afraid I had no choice."

I waited. He would tell me the rest of it without prompting.

"I know I said I would do everything in my power to delay the signing of your marriage contract, but I'm afraid circumstances have changed. Pressure has been brought to bear upon me, and I'm not in any position to refuse."

Pressure? My mind boggled at the idea of _anyone_ being able to pressure Desmond Cataliades. The lawyer was one of the most influential and well-known beings in the Supernatural community, famous amongst other things for being incorruptible. This was one of the reasons his services were so in demand; once he committed, he followed through. The thought that there was something - or someone - powerful enough to make him go back on his word made me go cold.

"Can any pressure be applied in the opposite direction? Is it something I can help with? I'm happy to call in any favours necessary - you know how important this is to me."

He shook his head wearily. "No. There is nothing you - anyone - can do. Even telling you what I have is dangerous, but I couldn't let you think I had let you down under anything less than intolerable coercion. This goes against everything I have devoted my legal career to, but I have no choice - none."

His eyes were haunted as he continued. "I'll do my job, and represent your interests to the best of my ability, but any delays which might be considered unreasonable by interested parties ... I don't dare. I'm sorry."

Fuck! And now his name had been approved and witnessed, I couldn't even replace him. I remembered Freyda's expression as we signed the preliminaries, and knew in my soul that she was behind this, somehow.

"What has she done? Tell me and I'll deal with it. She won't get away with tampering with the legal process like this."

He replied, "please, I beg you - don't do anything. Don't try to help, don't say anything to anyone - even Ms Stackhouse. I know it's a lot to ask but I can't risk word getting back. I shouldn't have said as much as this." He glanced round. "Give me the contract. I'll do my best to make sure the contract is absolutely fair and doesn't impose unreasonable restrictions on you, but beyond that my hands are tied."

For the first time I felt my fate closing in on me, and wondered how much time I had left with Sookie ... "How long can you give me?"

"Two, maybe three weeks - that wouldn't be unreasonable, given the complexity of the contract, but no more. I'm sorry." He stood up and reached for the green box. "I'll be in touch tomorrow night. Will you be back in Louisiana by then?"

"Yes, I'll be home about three in the morning. I'll talk to you then." I wanted time with Sookie before I spoke to him again. I barely heard his repeated apologies as he left and I closed and locked the door behind him. I needed to think, but the dawn was tugging at me, and I had never so regretted my inability to function after sunrise. I fell into bed and tried to force my tired mind to process what I had learned, but all I could see as the blackness sucked me under was Freyda's face, smiling triumphantly...


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N.**

**I'm so sorry I didn't post last week - I'm afraid I picked up a bug while I was in hospital, and was as sick as a dog for some days and couldn't write. I'm better now, though, so on with Chapter 6.**

**Enjoy the lemonette.**

**AAE**

* * *

Chapter 6

**SPOV**

I had every intention of waiting up for Eric the next night, tiring though I expected the day to be. I made an early start, and was on the road by eight, my little car packed to the gills with decorations and edible delights courtesy of Holly and Casey. Sam had been right - the little church worker was a great cook, and she seemed to just flow round my kitchen, chatting happily, finding what she needed with minimum fuss. And I was pleased to see she wasn't above pot washing either!

I pulled up outside Belle Rive, the Bellefleur family mansion, thinking how glad I was that Halleigh and Andy had it now. Old Mrs Caroline Bellefleur had left it to Andy's sister and her husband, but when Glen had been offered a senior partnership they'd moved to Baton Rouge. They didn't want the house to leave the family, and Halleigh and Andy were quite happy to take it over and raise their children there. They had inherited enough money to maintain it the way it should be kept, and the cool, white-painted rooms and graceful furniture shone with love, care and beeswax.

Although Portia wouldn't have let me cross the threshold, Halleigh was different, and she owed me a favour for stepping in at her wedding, when one of her bridesmaids was taken ill. She was happy to let me borrow her home for Michele's shower. I thought I'd been real smart to think of it, until I was confronted with the need to decorate it and found the ceilings were all fourteen feet high at a minimum. Suddenly, my bright idea didn't look so stellar after all...

Halleigh was there, and did what she could, but there was no way a pregnant lady could be running up and down stepladders so it was mostly down to me, and by the time I stopped at two o'clock I was sweating like a turkey the day before Thanksgiving and I felt like a piece of chewed string.

The guests were due for two-thirty, so I didn't have time to go back home again, and Halleigh had very kindly said I could shower and change there, so after we grabbed a drink she showed me upstairs to the second bedroom on the left - the same room I'd changed in when I'd been on bridesmaid duty - and left me in peace.

I stepped into the bathroom to rinse off the dust and stickiness and then slipped into the pretty lilac skirt and cream sleeveless blouse I'd brought. As I put on the matching cream sandals, I couldn't help remembering that the last time I'd been in this bedroom, Bill Compton had had the _nerve _to proposition me, even though he had a girlfriend _and he knew she was listening to him do it! _What a lowlife.

I shook my head, wondering how I'd ever fallen for his lines. But Eric was right -he wouldn't be fooling me again. There was no way I could ever forget what he'd done and was _still_ doing by the sound of it. Everything in me wanted to go over to Bill's house and stake him as he slept, but I knew anything I could do, Eric could (and would) top it. I couldn't wish dear Bill a worse fate than being left to Eric's tender mercies; my honey didn't go a whole bundle on Christian charity...

xxxxxxxx

The shower was the usual mix of innuendo and hilarity, and Michele was genuinely touched at people's thoughtfulness. A divorcee herself, and already living with Jason, she had most things you'd need for starting married life, so folks had concentrated on smaller, more personal gifts. Halleigh had given her a recipe for applesauce bread (I think Michele had hoped for the recipe for old Mrs Bellefleur's chocolate cake, but that had gone to the grave with her) and I'd given her a silver photo frame with a picture of Jason in one side and space for a picture of her in the other.

It had been hot and humid all day and, by the time the last guest left, the skies were darkening, huge thunderheads building up in the west. As I cleared up the leftovers and the torn wrapping paper I was grateful for the gusts of cool air that fluttered the net drapes when the heavens finally unleashed the rain and the parched lawns gratefully began soaking it up.

The first cloudburst had passed by the time I'd finished tidying up and headed for home, but I knew there was more just waiting in the wings; as I drove I could see the storm following me on black wings. I was only just ahead of it; by the time I turned into my driveway the trees were starting to thrash and bend in the wind, and as I locked the car the rain was starting to spatter the windshield.

I made a dash for the porch and was in just before the deluge, but the earlier shower had just been the overture - Act one settled in with a vengeance, and I secured the screen door firmly before hurrying round the house, making sure all the windows and doors were closed and all the drapes were pulled. I hadn't forgotten this ritual once since Eric had left - even though Bill was occupied at Fangtasia, there was always the possibility of other beings looking in. You never knew what was in the woods round my house.

As I went upstairs the noise became almost deafening; it always sounded worse on the second floor because of the tin roof. A glance out of the window showed me it was pretty impressive, the rain coming down in lumps, and the trees round the clearing almost invisible through the murk. Unloading my car would have to wait a while.

I went down to the kitchen for some food - I'd been too busy to eat that much at the shower - and I got a couple of bottles of True Blood out of the fridge and put them out on the back stoop. I'd been doing this every night, for whoever was out in my woods, following Eric's orders. I never saw them, but the bottles were always empty come the morning.

The wind tugged hard at the screen-door as I opened it, and tore at my clothes and hair. The lightning was flickering, revealing the woods in staccato images of black and white that stayed on my retinas long after the flash had faded. I felt sorry for whoever had drawn guard duty tonight.

I locked up again, then took a shower and put on a nightdress - pale blue, edged with lace and a matching wrap. It was pretty but not new, as I suspected (and hoped) Eric would be in a mood for a little garment shredding when he arrived. And sex. Shredding, then sex. That sounded good.

I went back to the living room and settled down with a book while I waited, but I was pretty tired and before long the lines of print were blurring in front of my eyes. I set the book down, and the leaned my head back against the old afghan on the couch, thinking I'd rest my eyes for a few minutes, and the next thing I knew I was startling awake to a loud crashing sound.

Still dazed from sleep, at first I thought it was the thunder, but then I realised it was someone hammering on my door. Eric! I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock. just gone two in the morning - he was right on time. I dashed for the front door, but froze with my hand on the top bolt. Ah oh. Been caught like that before. "Who is it?"

"Who do you expect to be hammering on your door at this time of night? Let me in." Eric's deep voice sounded impatient.

"Well, given that this house is Supe Central most of the time, it could be almost anyone from a witch to a Were," I muttered as I threw the bolts. The sound of the rain grew louder as I opened the door. The security light was on, and threw the huge shape filling my doorway into silhouette. My vampire.

In the back of my mind I registered that he must have pulled the catch clean off the screen-door, but right then I didn't care. I hurled myself at him, and he didn't give an inch, just folded me in his muscular arms, and our lips met as he carried me inside the house, kicking the door shut behind him.

He walked forward until my calves hit the arm of the couch and I went over backwards, landing on the cushions with him above me, but we didn't so much as break stride. His mouth was ravenous on mine, and his fangs were already down, telling me he was hungry or horny (or probably both).

I met his urgency with my own, holding him to me, devouring his lips, enjoying the feel of his cool body against my own. I broke off the kiss just for a second to say, "God, I've missed you!" and then dived right back into the emergency meeting of the Viking Sex God Appreciation Society which my hormones had just convened.

First item on the agenda - get him naked. Second item - get me naked. Third item - but my Viking was focussed on items one and two at the moment, as his hands moved to all the right places. Ah, the sweet sound of tearing fabric on a summer's night ...

Five seconds later we were skin to skin and every cell in my body was lighting up from the inside. I don't know how he did what he did, but I was sure as hell glad he was doing it. He didn't waste any time on words - he was all about actions right then - and his touch got me from nought to nymphomaniac in under five seconds.

Now I could feel his hard length pressing against me, and I shifted slightly to give him better access. He hooked a hand beneath my thigh, drawing my leg up round his slim hips and I clutched him to me as he slid home with a sigh. My breath caught in my throat just for a second as my body adjusted to the sweet pressure and then he was moving and ... Oh God, this was what I'd been missing for the last week.

Much as we both enjoyed slow and sweet, neither of us had time for it right then, and his hips were relentless as they plunged and rolled, seeking maximum sensation for both of us. I felt the first throbs of orgasm teasing deep in my pelvis, and they quickly built to an indescribable electric buzz as he pushed me towards pleasure.

Eric's mouth and hands and body worked their way beyond my flesh and deep into my core, pulling indescribably wonderful sensations to the surface, and his growls were mingled with the little cries and moans which he forced from me.

We were racing towards the cliff-edge, reaching frantically, my own heartbeat thudding loud in my ears, and his weight pressed me into the cushions as he lifted his head briefly. "Bite me," he whispered, and I was happy to oblige. I sank my teeth into the thick muscle of his shoulder, tasting the sweet coppery flavor of his blood and he hissed, "Yesss!" as I swallowed the cool fluid.

He shuddered with pleasure, and when I pulled back I saw his eyes glowing blue for a second before he growled deep in his chest. His fangs slashed down and lightning ripped up my spine, crackling along my nerves as he penetrated my neck and drank deeply.

My scream was echoed by a crash of thunder from outside as we both hurtled over the edge and free-fell towards oblivion ...

xxxx

My breathing was beginning to return to normal by the time Eric raised his head with a satisfied groan, and licked the scarlet stain from his lips. Then he ran his tongue across my bite-marks, soothing and healing them.

"Thank you, lover; I needed that."

"Which, the blood or the sex?"

"Both. I was hungry for you in all ways." I'd certainly got that impression. He continued. "I have neither fed nor fucked since I left you. Virtually every human in Freyda's palace made themselves available to me, but none of them compared to you. I wasn't even tempted."

Even though the bond wasn't fully operational yet, I could feel his sincerity. My heart warmed at the look in his eyes, and I knew he'd learned a lesson from the whole Kym Rowe fiasco. It was good to know he was working at our relationship too.

He carefully got to his feet, smiling his warm, sated smile. I watched him as he stretched luxuriously, fully aware of my attention, and my pulse picked up again. Seriously, that vampire should have a warning tattoo-ed on his chest - "Do Not Attempt This Ride Unless You Have A Strong Heart!"

My gaze dropped lower. His gracious plenty was still at full attention, and I licked my lips, assuming he would be up for another round, but when I reached for him he shook his head.

"Much as I would love to, dear one, Cataliades said he would ring at three, and I need to prepare for his call."

I pouted. "No you don't - you need to have hot sex with me."

"I can't right now."

"Well, maybe _you_ can't but _I _sure as hell can."

He snorted with laughter and stepped out of reach, before picking up what was left of his pants and inspecting them ruefully. They were split down both side seams, and were fit only for the rag-bag. He said, "I won't be wearing these again."

"Never, mind, they died in a good cause."

He smirked and emptied the pockets, saying, "have you got anything here I can wear?"

"I think Claude and Dermot left a few items behind upstairs - you can go and look if you want. They'll probably smell of fairy, though."

"Not a problem. I won't be going anywhere it might cause issues." He sauntered out of the room, giving me a splendid view of his butt (which was of course exactly what he intended), and then I heard footsteps overhead and closets opening. It gave me a few seconds to compose myself and get my pulse back to normal before he came back down in a pair of jeans. They were too short, but about right round the waist.

The prospect of more sex receded further into the distance, but he smiled and said, "lover, you know I want to, but we need to talk before Cataliades rings. I would have been here sooner, but I had to stop at Fangtasia."

"To kill Bill?" I was hopeful, but he shook his head.

"Not yet. We know he is a spy, but he doesn't know he's been spotted. I think he's more useful feeding Freyda misinformation for us. I needed to debrief Pam and collect the data stick."

Oh, now that sounded interesting. I swallowed my disappointment. Vengeance deferred was not vengeance denied. "Was there anything good on it? Anything we can use?"

"I haven't looked at it yet. I wasn't going to check it out in my office - not with Bill hanging around, making the place look untidy. His tech skills are too good and I don't trust him not to go snooping on my computer, so I waited until I could use yours."

"Oh sure - go right ahead. I'll just go and get dressed."

"Don't cover up on my account." He eyed my naked body with interest, reaching out and caressing my skin where the flush of exertion still showed. "I love the way your blood moves around your body like this, sometimes showing, sometimes not - as though it's playing hide and seek with me, teasing me..."

I'd always known Eric liked to try and make me blush, but I hadn't realised it was because he thought my blood was _flirting_ with him. It seemed that vampires were fascinated by the scarlet stuff, even when they weren't drinking it.

"The rain's cooled things off some - I'm getting a tad chilly, I need to put something on." I got up and went along the hallway to my bedroom. This time I risked putting on my best night-dress and wrap, as Eric's hamster impulses seemed to have passed for the moment.

By the time I got back to the living room he had my computer booted up and was just plugging in the data stick. I took a seat and watched him while he worked. It was a good opportunity, as his focus was totally on the screen, and I got to stare at him as much as I wanted. He was worth staring at - bare-chested, the shadow and light making valleys between each rib and every plane of muscle. His long hair was tousled after our session, and I wanted to reach out and smooth it, but didn't want to disturb his concentration.

At first glance there seemed to be thousands of documents, and I despaired of looking at all of them, but it didn't seem to faze Eric - he just sorted them into date order and selected the last month's worth. There were still hundreds, but his speed-reading came in handy, and he discarded most without more than a single glance, moving those he thought might prove interesting into another folder.

He was a lot more tech-savvy than he used to be - I guessed Parker, one of his new followers from Minden, had been getting him up to speed. At any rate, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing, except he couldn't handle the slow speed my PC worked at. He kept clicking the mouse faster than the software could handle and tsked with frustration when the computer got its electronic panties in a bunch and locked up on him.

"It's about time you upgraded your hardware, Sookie," he said as it happened for the third time. "This is so slow it would be quicker to use quill and parchment."

"It's called human speed, Eric, and it works just fine for me."

He was about to retort when the little egg-timer on the screen disappeared and he grunted with satisfaction. He opened the folder with the documents he'd selected. "These four look like the most promising."

I leaned closer. "Why did you pick them?"

Two of them are hand-written, which suggests that either the writer was in a hurry or they didn't want a record of this on a computer, where it might be found. Haven't you heard of Wikileaks? Rumour has it that even the Kremlin is ordering typewriters for its most confidential work - you can't hack into a piece of paper."

He opened the first document, and studied the image on the screen. It was a short scrawl with a signature at the bottom of it. "The hand-writing is appalling, but it looks like a copy of a note from Freyda authorising one of her chamberlains to remove the contents ..." his eyebrows rose. "The _entire_ contents of her private vault in the treasury and take it all to a secure location in the basement. Hmm. That's very odd."

"Why?"

"Well, firstly, I thought she had shown me everything in her treasury - she certainly seemed eager to dazzle me with her wealth - but I didn't pick up so much as a hint of any secret treasure. So, what is so valuable that she keeps it in a private vault, yet wouldn't use it to impress me? Secondly, why would she want it relocated? Look at the date - just three days ago. This one bears thinking about."

"Why would anyone photocopy that?"

"When I visited the treasury with Freyda, I met the vampire in charge of it. He's so anal he makes Maxwell Lee look like a stoned hippy; every time Freyda picked something up to show me, he winced, as though it caused him personal pain. I can't see him letting _anything _out of his grasp without the proper paperwork, so I'm guessing he wanted documentary evidence to cover his ass just in case anything went wrong. He probably took half a dozen copies. Thank God for bureaucracy."

He opened a new document. I looked and said, "that's just an invoice. What makes it special?"

"Take a closer look."

It was an invoice from someone called the Arden Group, and it was for attending an address somewhere called Escondido Drive in Oklahoma City and placing something called Vlakas wards at unspecified locations. I shook my head. "Nope. Not seeing it."

"How much is it for?"

I took a closer look, and whistled softly. "Twelve thousand dollars? Why would anyone pay that much for wards? Amelia did mine for free."

"Exactly. Escondido Drive is Freyda's palace, so she's having some very special work done there if it's worth that sort of money."

"What are they? Vlakas wards?"

"I don't know. Vlakas is Greek for stupid, but stupid wards? It doesn't make sense. It must be a code of some sort. Either way, it's an anomaly that might be worth investigating. You could try asking Amelia if she knows. Let's see what else we've got."

The next document was hand-written, and seemed to be a proposal of some sort. Eric read a lot faster than I did, hitting the page down button too fast for me to follow, so I gave up and waited for him to finish. It didn't take long before he said, "I'm not sure there's anything here that I didn't already know - or at least suspect - but it could still be useful. It's the proposal to the governing boards of Zeus and Narayana for Freyda and Felipe's attack on Texas."

He'd explained to me a while ago that possible takeovers had to be cleared with the heads of the home Clans. Nevada was in Narayana, Texas and Oklahoma were in Zeus, we were in Amun. "It's pretty much what I expected, but I think I'll send a copy to Stan. It'll give him proof of Freyda's intentions, just in case he needed an incentive to encourage Joe to make a move. There's enough detail here to be helpful, and it'll mean he owes me a favor."

"Oh, so that's good. What's the last one?"

"I picked this one because it's a photograph." He clicked on the icon and an image opened up. It was too small to see clearly, but it looked like a copy of a driving licence. The tiny picture was of an elderly lady, who seemed to have that startled maiden-aunt-caught-in-the-bath look that so many of us get when our photos are taken. I didn't know her, and Eric enlarged the image to read the details just as the house phone rang.

I glanced at my watch - if it was Mr C, he was fifteen minutes early. I went to answer it, raising my eyebrows and nodding at the screen in a silent 'do you recognise her?' kind of way, and Eric scrolled down the remaining pages, scanning the information before shaking his head and closing down the computer, as I said, "Hello?"

"Miss Stackhouse, this is Desmond Cataliades. Is Sheriff Northman with you? I tried his cell phone but it went to voicemail."

"Yes, he's right here."

I beckoned Eric over, and he winked at me as he whispered, "I turned my phone off because I didn't want us to be disturbed ..." Then he was all business as he took the phone and we both sat on the couch.

"I am here."

Not having vamp hearing, I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation, and Eric was doing more listening than talking. He made occasional noises of assent, but at last he finished the call and said, "very well. I'll think carefully about everything you've said." And then he hung up.

I didn't say anything for a while, as he was clearly processing whatever it was he'd just learned. Then he said, "we have decisions to make, my Sookie."

"So tell me."

"Cataliades said Freyda's lawyer called him twice tonight, expecting him to have read the contract and to be ready to start proceedings. He demanded a meeting in three days' time, and wouldn't take no for an answer. Apparently, he grew quite threatening, so Cataliades had to agree." Eric sighed heavily. "I still don't know what they're threatening him with, and he won't give me any hints, but something is scaring him badly."

"What do they want?"

"Freyda's lawyers have given him an ultimatum. Two weeks. He tried to push for more, but they wouldn't move." He put his arm around me. "I'm sorry, lover. We're going to have to move our timetable up. I'm going to call Stan again, and see how things are progressing at his end. It may be a long call."

That was Ericspeak for, 'you will probably find this boring,' so I nodded and stood up and left the room. It wasn't that I didn't want to hear it, it was that I didn't want him to hear _me. _I shut myself in my bathroom and had another shower - the third today - but this wasn't for hygiene. It was because the sound of the water would cover my sobs.

I kept them as quiet as I could, but as I leaned against the tiles I had to face the possibility that, just as my relationship with Eric seemed to be getting solid after some seriously rocky times, he was about to be torn away from me.

He didn't want to go - I knew that for sure. He would fight to the bitter end. But would it be enough? For the first time, I wondered if the forces ranged against us would be too much even for Eric and his thousand years of cunning and experience. I hated the thought that he might be forced to leave me, and then I had to consider what my options would be if he did have to go through with this marriage.

Would he ask me to go with him? And if so, as what? Bill had said he'd have to put me aside - that he could have a human pet, but not a wife. I wondered how vampires did divorces and then it hit me, what I'd just been doing ...

_Bill _said. Fucking Bill Compton - even though he couldn't get into my house, it seemed he could still get into my head! Why was I listening to that creep yet _again?_ Bill had spent whole conversations trying to persuade me that Eric would leave me for Freyda, but if I knew anything about my Viking, it was that he'd find a way out of this or die trying. He was in the living-room right now, coming up with a plan of some sort - I was sure of it.

And then I remembered something else about that conversation with Bill, and knew I had to tell Eric. If I said I was going to trust him, I had to do more than say it. And that meant telling him some things which I should probably have mentioned before.

I got out of the shower and dried myself, a new determination burning in me. I pulled on my wrap again and headed to the kitchen, where I warmed up a True Blood for him. If he hadn't fed for a week, he was probably still hungry, and even though he'd fed from me he was still unusually pale. I knew he wouldn't want to take any more from me tonight - anaemia was something I had to watch out for and he hated it when I took iron supplements, as the taste got into my blood.

I came back into the living-room and slid the bottle onto a coaster on the coffee-table, and he made a sign for pen and paper. I rooted in a drawer and passed him what he wanted. He scribbled down an email address before saying, "I'm just sending it over to you now. It'll be with you in a couple of minutes," and then he handed the paper to me, nodding at the computer. I wrote 'Send the proposal to Stan?' just to make sure I wasn't about to do something monumentally stupid, and he nodded, reaching for the True Blood.

I found the file and attached it to an email. Then I carefully typed in the address on the paper, Eric still talking but watching me like a hawk as I did so. With his eyesight, he could see the screen quite clearly from the couch, and I looked at him questioningly before hitting Send. He nodded his approval, I clicked the mouse, and it was on its way.

Eric smiled briefly at me and I smiled back before curling up next to him on the couch. He was still talking to Stan. "So, when does Joe meet with the board?"

Pause.

"Okay, that's good. And if they give the go-ahead, what timetable is he proposing? How soon can you and he be ready?"

Another pause.

"Really? That soon? Are you sure? I don't want to fail because we jumped the gun. Well, yes, I understand that. The risk of discovery ... Very well. I'll wait to hear from you. Take a look at Freyda's proposal, and call me if there are any problems."

Then he disconnected and pulled me onto his lap. He'd finished the True Blood, and a hint of colour was creeping into his cheeks. I stroked his face - his skin was always startlingly smooth - and then leaned in for a kiss.

He returned it with interest, but wasn't about to get distracted.

"So, do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Both."

"The good news is that Joe is up for the take-over. He is meeting with the governing board of Zeus Clan tomorrow night, and with all the information I've just provided, he thinks he can make a convincing case. The fact that he now has a copy of Freyda's proposal makes her look weak, which will help him. If the board approve, Stan thinks they can be ready within the two weeks."

"Oh, that's really good. So, what's the bad news?"

Now his face was very serious. "Sookie do you really trust me?"

"Yes?"

"Enough to do what I ask, even if it isn't what you want to hear?"

Ah oh. "Yes."

He sighed. "Then I need to you come to Oklahoma for my wedding."

* * *

**Eric has his reasons, I promise, even if they're not immediately obvious.**

***chants* trust the Viking, trust the Viking...**

**I'm afraid I won't be posting next week - I'm going on vacation for a few days, but I'll have a chapter ready for you the first week in August. We should start getting to the action soon. You know me, I'm all about the build-up...**

**Thanks for reading.**

**AAE**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Hi there. Thanks for being patient. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

* * *

"_I need to you come to Oklahoma for my wedding."_

Oh fuck. I stared into those blue, blue eyes, wondering what was going on behind them, and wondering how I was expected to handle a punch in the guts like that.

Well, I figured I had a number of options here. I'd had a lot of lonely, sleepless nights in the last two weeks, I'd spent a good chunk of them thinking about my life and loves, and I'd realised some important things.

One of the things I'd come to realise was that I was real pissy with Eric sometimes without a good reason; I didn't know why, exactly. Well, I did know why some of the time - his arrogance and outrageous demands kind of brought it out in me - but I had to be honest with myself and admit that he didn't always deserve it.

Sometimes I was real hard on him, and I felt kind of bad that I'd probably made this whole Freyda thing worse for him by my stubborn attitude. I'd blamed him for not telling me sooner, but maybe if I'd treated him nicer, he _would _have told me sooner …

So, in the light of those two-in-the-morning self-examination sessions, what was I going to do with this latest outrageous request? Well, I could go with my default position of rejecting outright / walking away from / refusing to talk about it. I knew I was comfortable with that, because I'd done it a lot, but to paraphrase the movie _Fight Club_, how had that worked out for me? Mmm ...

Alternatively, I could try asking some questions, being sarcastic and _then_ rejecting outright / walking away from / refusing to talk about it. Hmm. A definite possibility. Perhaps keep that one in reserve...

Maybe I could ask advice from, or listen to suggestions from, everyone except Eric? Always a popular choice, but I'd been there, done that, _not_ doing it again.

So how about something new? Something radical? How about ... actually _considering _his request like a reasonable adult and judging its merits based on a discussion with him? Not tried that one before, so maybe it was time to give it a whirl. So ...

"Can you tell me why you need me to do this?"

"I would rather not - I'd prefer you just to trust me."

Nope. Openness went both ways. "I do trust you, but that doesn't mean I don't need to know stuff that affects me. Remember, we discussed this before you went to Oklahoma. If you want me to make good choices, you're going to have to give me the information to base 'em on. Now, why would you rather not tell me?"

"Because you're human."

What? In spite of all my good intentions, I felt stubborn Sookie starting to bubble to the surface. "And that somehow makes me untrustworthy?"

"No, it makes you vulnerable. If I tell you, and you get picked up by our enemies, they could force you to give away my plans. I've lost count of the number of times you've been abducted, attacked or imprisoned by fairies, shifters, fanatics, vampires, Weres..."

"Yeah, well, have you also lost count of the number of times I've gotten away from those same fairies, shifters, fanatics, vampires and Weres?"

"You've been fortunate, but I need to know you are safe. I worry about you."

Okay, so he wanted to protect me. I could handle that, as long as he wasn't implying he couldn't trust me. Time for a little more logic. "And isn't that why you've had someone on duty in my woods this last week? To protect me? You want me to trust you, honey - well, I do. I trust you to look after me, but it seems to me you don't trust yourself."

There was a slightly startled look on his face, as I pushed my advantage. I reckoned a little nudge to his pride wouldn't do any harm.

"Surely you're not saying you don't think you and your people are up to the job?"

He stiffened with outrage. "Of course not - I can protect what is mine."

"Then security can't be the only reason you don't want to tell me. So, what are the other reasons?"

He still hesitated. "You won't like it. I don't want to distress or anger you."

I smiled wryly. "Yeah, because you're so scared of me when I'm mad. Well, it's your choice, but I'm not making a decision until we've talked about this. Mind now, I'm not saying no - I'm saying I need more details."

I could see him struggling with this, but if he was out of his comfort zone, then so was I. I wasn't used to having to ask these sorts of questions ... and then I sat back, the breath almost leaving my body as a kind of epiphany hit me.

I suddenly realised that maybe the reason I got so snippy with Eric was because I wasn't used to having to ask for information, and I didn't like it! All my life I'd known everything I needed to, and a lot more besides, because I could just pluck it out of people's heads.

Even though I didn't like what I heard a lot of the time, maybe I had to admit that it had given me a kind of superior attitude in some respects - knowing stuff other folks didn't. This very afternoon at the shower, hadn't I been sitting there feeling all kinds of judgmental because I knew the truths behind some of the things that were being said (or not said)?

Shit, that was no way to carry on.

But if I'd just been going through a mental revolution, so had Eric. A look of resignation came over his face. "Very well, if you insist. But I warn you now, you won't like it." He took my hands, looking down at them and drawing slow circles over the pulse-points with his thumbs. He seemed to take comfort from this, and after a few seconds said, "I think it's time to face the facts - unless the takeover succeeds, I'm going to have to marry Freyda."

He felt me stiffen and tightened his grip when I would have pulled my hands away. Even though I'd suspected this might be coming, it was the last thing I wanted to hear. "I haven't been able to find anything in the contract or the deal with Ocella that would give me an out, and believe me, I've tried." I did believe him.

"I've been basing most of my arguments on the fact that Ocella died before receiving his commission for arranging the wedding, hoping that would render the agreement invalid, but it didn't work. Even Cataliades said that contracts don't fall through just because one party dies after completion. And it was completed and signed in blood, which makes it legally binding in our world."

I nodded. Though I didn't like it, I could see the logic. So, I wanted to know what Plan B was. I knew he had one. He always had one. He _had _to have one …

He continued. "So, I think the best thing to do is arrange for a very large and elaborate ceremony. Freyda will want to display her wealth and power to the entire vampire community, but it will give us an excuse for inviting large numbers of vampires from other kingdoms to attend the wedding."

"Is that normal?" The only vampire wedding I'd been to (apart from my own) had taken place during a Clan Summit, and it had been witnessed mostly by the members of Amun Clan.

"Royal weddings can be as elaborate or as simple as the participants want, but it would be expected that vampires from our own Clans would be invited; Amun for me and Zeus for Freyda. So …"

I could see where he was going with this. "Freyda's guests would naturally include Texas?"

He nodded, pleased that I'd picked up on his intentions. "Naturally. And mine would include all of Louisiana. That's one of the reasons why I want you to come. If all my vampires are with me, there will be no-one left to guard you. I can't risk Freyda or Felipe trying to snatch you. You will be safer with me."

"Will Freyda allow me come with you?"

"Yes. She's actively encouraging me to bring you."

Now that was a surprise, considering she'd actually taken the trouble to visit me and warn me off Eric. "That sounds kind of suspicious. What's she planning?"

He sighed. "I'm afraid she wants access to your skills, lover. She tried to bargain with Stan for Barry's services, but he turned her down, so you are the only telepath within reach. It's another reason for her choice of me as a consort. If I swear fealty to her, which I will have to do, then she will have access to all of my assets, including you. She is hoping she'll be able to use you because of our bond ... what?"

I'd sat up straight at his last words. I suddenly remembered what I needed to say to him about my conversation with Bill. Oh hell. He was going to be mad but I had to tell him. No matter what his reaction, after demanding openness from him, I couldn't keep give him anything less. "Uh … I think you might be mistaken about that."

"What do you mean?"

"I think Freyda probably knows our bond is broken."

"What?" He looked shocked. "Why do you think that? How could she know? I've told no-one except Pam."

I cringed inwardly. "I'm really sorry, honey - it's my fault. Just now, in the shower, I was thinking about a conversation I had with Bill a while ago, and I remembered that I'd told him that we ... _I_ ... broke the bond. And that means he's got to have told Freyda."

I was worried about his reaction, but he didn't go postal on me - he was silent for a few moments, thinking. "Hmm. That might explain why she's been so unable to accept my reluctance to leave you - as far as she knows, there is no bond between us and I should be completely free to leave Louisiana. And that must be why she invited me to bring you to Oklahoma now, when initially she made it quite clear you weren't welcome. If you aren't bonded to me, you're free to be bonded to another vampire - by force, if necessary."

"Oh crap, not again." Instant flashback to Rhodes, when Andre had tried to force a bond on me, and had only been stopped by Eric volunteering instead. "Do you think she'd want to do it herself?"

"Probably. The only other possibility is Bill, and I doubt if she'd let him have you, even if that's what he wants."

"Eeww." I shuddered at the thought of being fully bonded to Bill - I was well out of that. "So that settles it. We are _definitely_ completing our bond as soon as we can."

"Agreed. By this time tomorrow, there will be no evidence that it was ever broken. Have you told anyone else?"

I thought hard. "Obviously Amelia and Bob know, and Alcide Herveaux…"

"What? ? You told the dog our private business?" Now he did look seriously annoyed.

I sighed and said, "no, of course not; Amelia did. You remember I mentioned she'd encouraged him to park himself in my bed? Well, I kicked him and Amelia out of the house for that little stunt. And Claude too, because he helped them, so he probably knew. Jannalynn definitely did but she and Claude aren't a problem any more, and I'm sure Alcide will keep his mouth shut. He owes me."

"He owes me too." There was a distinct touch of fanginess about Eric now, and his grip on my hands tightened as he said, "I shall be having a conversation with him about the consequences of trespassing on my territory."

I rolled my eyes as the last words were practically growled. Considering how much vampires despised Weres, their behaviour was real similar on occasions, particularly when it came to alpha males and possessive instincts. I suppose I was lucky Eric chose to mark his territory with bite-marks; the mood he was in right now, he'd probably pee on my shoes if he thought it would keep Alcide away.

"No need. It was a while ago, and I made it real clear to him that I was with you, bond or no. He was very embarrassed, so I don't think he'll be spreading it any further. He barely even looked at me out at his farm the other week, remember? And anyway, no vampire's going to believe anything a Were says, are they?"

He relaxed a little. "True. Still, you will call him in the morning, and inform him that our bond is restored, and that unless he keeps his mouth shut I will personally gut him and nail his mangy hide to the wall at Fangtasia."

Well, I probably wouldn't phrase it quite like that, but I was sure he'd understand the need to be discreet. "Okay, honey, I'll call him first thing, and Amelia too. I don't think I told Sam, so it's just Bill we have to worry about. But that's bad enough, isn't it?"

"It's not ideal, but I might be able to use it in our favor. For the moment I want Freyda to trust Bill, so that we can feed her false information, but the time may come when I need to shake her faith in him. We can undermine his credibility with this, if necessary. She'll think at best he is unreliable and at worst that he lied to her. It won't even occur to her that our bond was broken and renewed."

"Doesn't that ever happen?"

"I've never known it - I told you there was a ritual for dissolving a bond, but it's only ever the vampire who chooses to do so, and it would usually be because they grew tired of their human. Why would they renew it, if that were the case? And even supposing a human discovered how it was done, how many vampires would swallow the humiliation of being rejected like that and seek to restore the bond with a human who clearly didn't want them?"

He looked at me significantly, and I felt myself blushing. I hadn't realised just how much of a blow it had been to his pride _and_ his prestige when I'd severed our bond. Once again, Eric was showing what an unusual vampire he was in being big enough to accept the insult and put it behind him. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from him.

I opened my mouth to apologise yet again, but he interrupted me and said, "Freyda's having the information is potentially a problem, but the main thing is that you trusted me enough to tell me of it, even though you were scared."

He had to have picked that up through the bond, but I nodded anyway. "I wasn't sure how you'd react, but I couldn't have you making plans without all the facts."

"That's all I ask. And in return, I will give you the facts that you've asked for."

"Okay, so back to our original subject - is keeping me safe the only reason you want me to go with you?"

He hesitated, but said, "no. You need to be there so that our … divorce can be witnessed."

Oh God. This was what he meant about not wanting to distress or anger me. "What … what does that involve?"

"Nothing much. It's as simple as the pledging ritual with the knife, but it has to be done in front of a witness." He pulled me onto his lap and held me. "You know I would spare you this if I could. I wanted to do it privately, with just Pam present, but Cataliades has pointed out that Freyda is unlikely to accept my child's testimony. He's offered to be our witness, but he's on his way to Oklahoma to meet with Freyda's lawyers, so we'll have to see him there. I swear to you it will be just you, me and him. No-one else."

I swallowed, with difficulty, and said, "how late can we leave it?"

"Until the night before the wedding, if that's what you want."

I nodded. "I want to be yours for as long as possible."

"You will always be mine. And remember, it may never come to that. It depends on whether the Clan governing body grant permission for Joe's coup. If they do, would you have any problem joining forces with Barry if we needed you to do that?"

"I wouldn't, but I don't know about him. He's been kind of wary of me since Rhodes."

"Leave that to Stan. You may be able to help by using your gifts - you did say you were stronger combined than individually, didn't you? Freyda has a lot of human servants who know everything about the palace and how it functions, and you and Barry will be able to access that information for us."

Well, I'd done that before for Sophie-Anne, so I knew I could handle it. I nodded, but I was still troubled. I said, "but what will happen if you don't get permission for the coup? Or if you do, and then it fails?"

"It won't fail." I wish I had even a tenth of his confidence.

"But what if you're captured … or killed?" I hated to even think about it, but I knew he must have considered the possibility. He never left things to chance.

I won't be captured. If Freyda and Felipe survive, they will want revenge. I won't submit to their tender mercies, so I will fight to the death. If I fall, Pam is under orders to get you out of the palace and to seek refuge with Russell Edgington in Mississippi. You'd be safe there; we know he would love to have a telepath so he'd value you, he won't be interested in you physically because you're female, and he's strong enough to defy Felipe and Freyda."

I didn't want to dwell on the possibility of Eric finally dying, so I asked, "what if Joe doesn't get permission to try it?"

"Unlikely, but if that should happen then I will go through with the wedding, and then divorce the bitch."

"Huh? _Can_ you divorce her?"

"Under certain circumstances."

I shook my head. "No, sorry, you're gonna have to be clearer than that. How can you divorce her if you've only just married her? What about the contract?"

"It's something I looked into while I was trying to find a way out of the alliance. If the worst comes to the worst, I will marry her, find a way to avoid consummating the marriage and then divorce her three nights later."

"But how would you get her to agree to that?"

"I wouldn't need her agreement. I wouldn't even need her to be present. There is an ancient and somewhat obscure edict which I have seen applied a long time ago, but which Freyda is probably unaware of, because of her youth. I checked it out with Cataliades and he says it's still in force. It states that if a vampire marriage is not consummated within three nights then the marriage can be annulled, at the request of either party, by a priest."

"But where in Oklahoma would you find a priest willing to risk what Freyda would do to him?"

He looked slightly smug. "That will not be a problem. Remember the wedding in Rhodes?"

I thought back to the night the Kings of Mississippi and Indiana had tied the knot and a dim light-bulb slowly brightened in my head.

"You're ..."

He nodded, slightly smugly, I thought. "Yes. I am a priest in the Church of the Loving Spirit, and as such I am licensed to perform _and _annul marriages."

"Even your own?"

"There is no law saying I can't annul my own marriage - I checked that very carefully, too."

"Oh wow, Freyda would be so pissed!"

"That would be one way of putting it. I hope it won't have to come to that, but I would then have fulfilled my maker's plans for me by marrying her. Nowhere did he state that I can't divorce her."

"Sounds good to me, honey. But what would happen to me?"

"Don't forget, this is only a contingency plan in the event that the coup fails to materialise. Freyda has said I can keep you as a pet, so you would stay in my quarters before the wedding. You wouldn't be required to attend the ceremony, and afterwards, the festivities will last for at least a week, so I can arrange for my people to be scattered across the city. At a given signal, they would all leave separately for Mississippi along with you and Pam, I would enact the divorce, leave the papers for Freyda to find, and then fly out to join you in Jackson."

"Would Russell allow you to stay?"

He nodded. "I've been in secret negotiations with him for some time, to be honest. I was tired of Felipe and his tyranny, and the only thing really holding me in Louisiana was you. I didn't think you'd want to leave your home. Russell's already said he'd welcome a vampire of my experience and he's offered me the post of Sheriff of Area 2, which includes Gulfport. He lost a lot of subjects in that area during Katrina, so he's happy to welcome as many of my people as want to come with me. So, if things went badly wrong in Oklahoma, would you be willing to leave with me and start afresh in Gulfport?"

Oh wow. What a question to ask. It reminded me of his offer to me on the night of the Witch War, when he'd said we could run away together ... I'd said no then, because he wasn't in his right mind, but he certainly was now. So, would I be willing to leave not just my home but my whole life, and take a chance with the vampires of Mississippi? I shook my head. "I really want to say yes, honey, but could you give me some time to think about it? About what it would involve for me? I know vampires are used to moving around, but I've lived my whole life right here..."

He looked disappointed, but said, "of course. I understand. I wouldn't have burdened you with this decision until it was truly necessary, but you insisted. And I couldn't have you thinking that my not telling you was because I didn't trust you. I have trusted you as I trust no other human. Do you believe me?"

"I think so."

An eyebrow rose. "You think so? Well think a little more. I never permitted Bobby or Mustapha access to my sleeping quarters, yet you were welcome to share it with me even if you preferred not to. I have never trusted a human to know my resting place before, yet I stay in the cubby in your spare room without even a lock between me and potential enemies. I have never told another being about the circumstances of my turning - not even Pam - yet I told you. This is because I trust you not to use the information against me."

Oh God. He was right. I looked back over the last couple of years, and remembered all the instances of Eric offering to share his life and his home with me, and even though he sometimes struggled with openness after a thousand years of secrecy, he had made huge efforts. And had I reciprocated? Guilt washed over me as I remembered the secrets I still kept from him. Before I could over-think it, I said the fatal words.

"Uh, can I tell you some stuff please?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Will I like it?"

"I don't think so. But you need to know."

He sat back on the couch. "Very well. Tell me what you think I need to know."

"Promise you won't get mad?"

He eyed me cautiously. That was never a good start to a conversation, and he knew it.

"Very well."

I had to believe him. He'd taken the revelation about Bill and the bond pretty well, but that was small potatoes compared with what I was about to lay on him …

"There's a couple of bits of information that I've not shared with you, and I think it's about time I did."

"Go on."

"Um ... you know I can't hear vampires' thoughts?"

"Yes." Now his eyes were boring into me, unblinking, and making me very uncomfortable. I shifted slightly on his lap, and his arms tightened, as though he thought I might want to get off. He wasn't about to let that happen, and I went still again.

"Well, very occasionally - _very _occasionally, I get a little glimpse. Into a vampire's mind, that is." He stiffened and I hurried to give him all the information. "It's only just a second or two, and I've never told anyone, I swear. But I wanted you to know."

He was silent, the seconds ticking away as he processed the information. I wondered if I'd done right trusting him with this, but it was too late now...

At last he said, "have you ever heard me?"

"Just once, that first time at Fangtasia when you wanted me to read Bruce's mind. You remember?" What was I saying? Of course he remembered. I hurried on. "I got an idea that you were considering forcing me to do what you wanted by threatening my family, but you were reluctant because you wanted to be seen as human-friendly, and that's all I got. I _swear _that's all. Never again." Oh God, I hoped he'd believe me.

"Who else have you heard?"

"In Rhodes, at Sophie-Anne's trial, when I said I was getting the info about Henrik from his lawyer's mind, that wasn't true - I was getting it straight from Henrik, but I didn't realise it straightaway. I also heard that Stan's real name was Stanislaus, but those are the only times. It's not something I can control, and it sure as hell isn't something I want to do. I know how dangerous it is, believe me."

"Why haven't you told me this before?"

"I don't know. I thought you might use it against me, somehow - hold it over my head."

He sighed. "You do this too often, Sookie. Misjudge me."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do, and it makes it difficult to protect you sometimes. Do you remember when you refused to tell me what had happened between us while I was cursed? You were concerned then that I would hold the death of Debbie Pelt over your head in some way. Yet, when you did tell me, did I use it against you?"

I hung my head. "No."

"You didn't tell me about the cluviel dor because you thought I would use the information against you. Did I?"

I was squirming now, and my face felt as red as fire. "No. But we already talked about that."

"I know, and I'm sorry to bring it up again, but you have to see the pattern here. I understand how hard you find it to trust someone not to hurt you if they have the ability, but if we are to get through the next few weeks, I need you to trust me. Do you understand?"

I was nearly crying. "Yes, I do trust you - I _do._ Otherwise I wouldn't have told you at all. I never told Bill, honest."

"I'm very glad about that, I hate to think what he would have done with the information. I don't think there's anything useful I can do with it, but I appreciate your telling me. If it happens again, will you let me know?"

I nodded, truly grateful that he'd been so calm about it. "I'm glad you're taking it so well"

He hugged me close. "There would be no point in getting mad after the fact. It's happened, and I'm just relieved that you feel able to tell me. And in return, I shall tell you something that I have concealed from you."

Ah oh. What now? What secrets would a thousand-year-old vampire have that he was prepared to share with me? Did I want to know? Would it put me in more danger?

"Um, you don't have to, honey. Not if you don't want to."

"I _do _want to. And this is something that affects you. Will you listen to me?"

I nodded silently.

"Good. You just told me that, although you can't normally hear vampires, there are occasions when you can, yes?" I nodded again. "Well, I have discovered that although you can't usually be glamoured, there are occasions when you can be."

"What?" I pulled back, staring at him. "But I've never been glamoured - Bill tried, you've tried, I've lost count of the number of vamps who've tried! Are you saying I've been glamoured and not known it? How? When?"

"Calm down, Sookie. It's not as bad as you fear - you are still in control, I promise. Do you remember when you were staked in Jackson? The pain of removing it was too great for you, and I held you and told you to let go, and _you did so. _You allowed me to glamour you and take the pain away. The other vampires saw nothing unusual - they didn't know that you are normally resistant - but you allowed me into your mind on that occasion, and on that occasion only. It took great strength to break through your barriers, and I don't think a younger vampire could have done it, even with your co-operation, but I didn't take advantage of you then, and I never have since.

Now, is there anything else you need to get off your chest? Anything else that you fear I will use against you in some way? If so, this would be a good time to clear the air."

Did I dare mention it? Could I seriously show him that level of trust? Because it wasn't just my secret - it affected other lives too. I looked into his eyes, and saw a sincerity there that almost took my breath away.

I'd never seen this level of openness in Eric before. I had to honour it.

"Yes. There's one more thing. But you have to _promise _me you won't take advantage of the information in any way. Or tell anyone else. _Ever. _I'm only telling you because I don't want you to feel I'm keeping anything from you, but this isn't just about me - it's about someone else."

"Someone I know?"

"You've met them, yes."

"And if I know this, I could use it against them?"

"Yes. But you mustn't."

"Will it be harmful to me or mine if I know the facts but can't use them?"

"No, I don't think so. I can't see how it would harm you."

"Then I swear I won't use or pass on the information that you now give me." He looked suitably serious as he said the words, and I knew I had to trust him. Here goes.

"Do you remember you stayed over one night a while ago, and met my nephew Hunter …?"

* * *

**So, no more secrets. Next week, Oklahoma...**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

**So sorry this is a little late - I've been all caught up with packing to go on vacation tomorrow (yes, I know, again - but this is a family vacation. Last time it was just me and a friend). This means I won't be posting for the next two weeks :( but I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Also, I know I said it would be mostly Oklahoma, but I got this idea in my head and had to run with it. I hope you don't mind.**

**Anyway, enjoy, and see you at the end of August.**

**AAE**

* * *

When I'd finished explaining, I waited for Eric's reaction. He'd given me his word not to pass on or use the information, and I had no worries that he would say anything, but it was possible his interpretation of 'use' might be a little different from mine ...

He nodded slowly and I held my breath. It was no good searching his face, because he didn't show much expression and the bond didn't give me any insight yet. After tomorrow, it would be different, but right now I didn't know what to expect.

When he spoke, it certainly wasn't anything I could have expected. "I thought he might be."

I was completely startled. "You thought ... really? But I never said anything, I'm sure of it!"

"No you didn't, but the night he stayed with you, he woke up when I entered the room and said 'what are you?' He didn't say 'who are you?' which would have been a more reasonable question under the circumstances. There was nothing about me to suggest I wasn't human, but he still picked up that something was different. Once you told me he was Hadley's child, I put two and two together. She had the same heritage as you; it wouldn't be surprising for her son to have the same ability."

"Oh." I wasn't quite sure where to go next. My big revelation, and it seemed he already knew, or at least suspected it. "So, why have you never said anything to me, or tried to contact him?" A sudden horrible though. "Or have you?"

He shook his head. "He's too young to be of much use - he couldn't do anything for me that you can't. And my enemies would ask questions if I showed interest in a human child. The minute I went near him, people would have his life under a microscope, the connection to you would be made, and then he'd be fair game. No, he's much better off staying under the radar. I take it you've been teaching him when he visits?"

"I've been trying. He struggles with it, but I'm hoping he'll have a better shot at living a normal life than I did - I'm explaining about what not to say in public and I think he gets it. Well, some of it."

"Good. How long have you known about him?"

"I've known he existed since Hadley died, but I didn't know he was a telepath until Niall found him for me and I went and visited with him." I hesitated. "Are you sure you're okay with this, honey?"

"Absolutely. As long as he doesn't bring you into danger, then I'll simply keep an eye on him and make sure no-one else finds out about him. Does anyone else know what he can do?"

"His Dad, and probably his girlfriend, but at least they're not scared of him. Agent Lattesta thinks he knows, but he can't prove it and he's been told to lay off the family. Just as well really, I don't want his bosses get their hooks into him, he'd never see the light of day again. That would be a horrible thing to do to a child - being kidnapped by the FBI."

"Being kidnapped by vampires would be worse." Eric was under no illusions about his own kind and what they'd be likely to do if they found out about Hunter. I shuddered at the thought, and he wrapped his arms round me.

"If there are no more secrets between us, let's go to bed. I'll have to stay here tonight - it'll be dawn soon."

I smiled. "I don't have a problem with that. The hidey-hole's ready whenever you want it."

"Right now, I think your bed is calling us. You've been trying to hide your yawns for the last ten minutes, and I want to hold you."

"I don't have a problem with that either..."

0o0o0o0o0o

The next night Eric was out of the hidey-hole in my spare room the instant the sun set. I was in the kitchen at the time, cooking, and I heard the bedroom door close and then he was with me, sniffing the air appreciatively.

"Something smells good."

"Probably the chicken and bacon pot pie. The smell always makes me hungry."

Next thing I knew a pair of arms like cold steel bands went round me and he was nuzzling at my neck, inhaling deeply. I could feel the scrape of two needle-sharp points on my skin.

"No. It's not a pie - it's you. This is what I missed while I was away. The scent of Sookie. And this smell always makes _me _hungry."

Well _alright!_ Yay blood-bond! I turned in the circle of his arms (being careful with the fangs) and said "screw the pie - let's do this."

He scooped me up in his arms and carried me through to my bedroom, where he laid me carefully on the bed, and began peeling my clothes off, slowly. The man was an artist - he always varied his approach for maximum erotic effect. Sometimes he tore through my clothing like it wasn't even there; sometimes, like now, he tortured me with a slow, teasing touch that had my core temperature soaring and I couldn't keep still ...

Once he had me naked and gasping he stood back and studied me, his eyes glowing with a blue flame, before removing his own garments equally slowly. The careful, deliberate revealing of his beautiful body was a joy to watch. His eyes never left me as his hands slid from one button to the next, his expression a study in erotic anticipation. The breathtaking musculature of his arms and torso never failed to bring an awed smile to my lips and as he removed his pants his erect flesh had me tingling all over.

He slid onto the bed and stretched out next to me. His cool hand began a gentle sweep up and down the curves of my body, lingering tantalisingly in certain areas.

"Lover, would you allow me to try something?"

I was inclined to say, "hell yes, anything!" but a tiny voice said _ask the question first. _"What did you have in mind?"

"I want you to let me glamor you again."

Startled, I half sat up, propping myself up on my elbows. "What, now? Why?"

"I know you want to be more involved in my world, and I'm very pleased, but I'm concerned about the possibility of our enemies trying to use you for the knowledge in your head as well as the blood in your veins. I don't like the idea, but it has to be considered and if they kidnap you, they could force information on the takeover from you. If I can glamor you into being unable to reveal what you know, it would protect us all."

"But wouldn't they be able to tell that I'd been glamored? Surely if they saw I was hiding something, it would just put them on their guard."

"Do you remember when you read Ginger for me? You found that Long Shadow had glamored her, but neither Pam nor I could detect it. That intrigued me, and I researched it. It's a Native American vampire skill, and I paid one of them to teach me, so I believe I can do it. But only if you let me in."

"I don't know." I didn't like the idea of him messing with my mind - I'd seen what had happened to Re-Bar.

His fingers smoothed their way across my belly, comforting and caressing me. "Don't you trust me?" Damn, I hated it when he played the trust card, which he'd been doing a lot lately ...

"What makes you think I'd be able to let you into my head anyway? You know what my shields are like - I don't even know how you got in there last time."

"You were badly injured, and frightened. You were clinging to me as the only familiar face in a strange place. I think the pain distracted you and that made it easier for me."

"But none of that's happening at the moment."

His grin was half mischievous, half predatory and all Eric. "Oh, I think I can find a way to distract you ..." his fingers drifted lower and I caught my breath.

"Well, you can try, but I warn you, I'll probably take a lot of distracting." My voice was breathless and I was having a hard time focussing on complicated tasks like ... stringing a simple declarative sentence together.

"Then we'll just have to keep trying, won't we?" His deep voice hummed with promise and I felt a flutter in my pulse.

"If ... if you say so ..." at the moment he could have told me the moon was a giant Oreo and I'd have just looked for a giant glass of milk to dunk it in.

His mouth found mine and his tongue began the slow, intimate dance that would take me to a place where nothing existed but Eric and his touch. Ribbons of pleasure were uncurling, feathering through my veins and I moved against his hand, like a cat seeking a caress. He gave me what I wanted, his fingers fluttering and stroking as he eased me toward something that my body and mind craved with a building urgency that was little short of desperation.

Under his skilled touch it wasn't long before I was making little sounds of need; a song of desire that seemed to urge him on, and he moved so that his body was cradled between my thighs and his erection nudged at my centre, which was now swollen and eager for him.

He flexed his hips a little, sliding inside with a smooth surge that left me gasping as I felt his cool length contrasting with my heated flesh. "So soft, so warm ..." he murmured, and paused, allowing my body to adjust to his, before beginning a slow rocking motion, carefully stroking his way across my sensitive nerve-endings, arousing them more with each tiny movement.

I wrapped my legs round him, pressing against him, desperate for more contact, more stimulation, and he lifted his head to smile at me - a smile of pure satisfaction. Then he began to kiss his way across my cheeks, round my jawline, down my neck to the vulnerable point where my life flowed close to the surface. He lowered his mouth and nipped a little - not a real bite, just a tiny, sharp twinge - and then I felt his cool tongue soothing the spot.

He was taking most of his weight on one forearm, the hand buried in my hair, holding my head at the perfect angle for his mouth. The other hand was stroking my breast lightly, teasingly, sending arrows of pleasure darting round my system. The multiple sensations were too much; My brain stopped trying to process them and I became a creature of pure feeling, overloaded with ecstasy.

When his wrist appeared in front of my mouth, blood oozing from twin punctures, I didn't hesitate; it was an automatic reflex to latch on and start drinking the sweet, thick fluid. Eric groaned, a deep sound of pleasure, and said "more. Take more." I obliged, sucking at the wound until it healed and he re-opened it. As I drank I could feel him swelling even more inside me, then he found the sensitive spot that he'd been seeking and my body shuddered. He smiled with satisfaction, and brushed across it again, back and forth, at the same time angling his hips so his pelvis pressed directly against my clit with every thrust.

My gasp at the almost unbearable pleasure was muffled by his wrist against my lips, and I arched beneath him, every muscle in my body tensing as a tingling wave of warmth washed over me in a gentle tide. As I fell back against the pillow, eyes closed, boneless and blissful, I barely felt his fangs slide through my skin as his lips sealed round the wound and then I was inside him just as he was inside me...

As the tide of pleasure slowly receded, I heard him say hoarsely, "look at me, lover." My muscles were paralysed with post-sex lethargy and I didn't want to make the effort, but he repeated his words and I wearily dragged my eyelids open, to find he was gazing intently into my eyes, his own burning brightly.

He said, "let go, Sookie. Let me inside you." I raised a tiny chuckle at the thought that there was any way he could be deeper inside me than he already was, but then he smiled and said, "relax, lover. I have you," and I lost myself in the deep blue of his eyes ...

* * *

"Sookie, come back to me."

Eric's face was a pale blur as it hovered above mine and I blinked a couple of times, waiting for my eyes - and brain - to regain focus. I was on my back and he was lying next to me under the covers, propped up on one elbow, smiling gently. His fingers were slowly tracing circles on my stomach - something he liked to do after sex.

I smiled back at him and, as I did so, I felt something in my mind. Something familiar, something that I'd missed ... then a much broader smile crossed my face. We had our bond back. A gentle mental hum that was completely different from the mental pressure I faced from the minds of other humans - this was pure Eric, and his current emotion was ... happy. _Very _happy. I was wrapped in warmth and security and contentment and I basked in the glow of his mental presence.

I said, "I'm back. Did it work? Did you glamor me?"

He looked a little smug. "Yes. Your mind is very strong, even when ... distracted, but I got through your shields. I've placed a block, which means you won't be able to speak of our plans to anyone except myself, Pam, Stan or Joe. Can you still remember them?"

I thought for a moment; Joe and Stan - Oklahoma - coup - take down Freyda and Felipe. "Yup, it's all there."

His smugness increased. "I thought it would be." I closed my eyes and relaxed again, enjoying the echoes of his mood. He wouldn't be Eric if he didn't feel a little self-satisfied.

"_My lover. So fragile. So sexy."_

"Well, I'm not that fragile, but thanks for the compliment. I think you're pretty sexy too." His hand stopped its movement.

"What?"

"I'm not that fragile, but I'm glad you think I'm sexy." The mattress moved, and I opened my eyes. He was sitting up and staring at me, frowning. I stared right back at him, my expression probably identical to his. "What? why are you looking at me like that?"

"Did you just hear me?"

"Well, yeah, I'm not deaf."

"But I didn't say those words."

"Yeah, you did. I heard them."

"I didn't say them, but I _did_ think them."

Now it was my turn to sit up. "You mean ... oh crap. It happened again."

"You heard my thoughts?"

I groaned. "I must have. Damn it. I'm sorry, honey - I didn't mean to intrude."

Now he looked thoughtful. "You didn't do it deliberately, but there must be something that triggers it. I need to think about this ... you said that the only previous times have been when you came to read Bruce, when you heard Henrik in Rhodes and when you heard Stan in Dallas?"

"Yup. Oh, and the very first time I ... uh ..." my voice tailed off.

"What?"

"I'd rather not say." Damn, this was embarrassing.

"This might be important, lover. Tell me what you were thinking. Was there another time you heard something?"

"Not quite heard. More ... saw."

His eyebrows climbed into his hairline. "You _saw_ something in a vampire's mind?"

"Uh ... yeah."

"Tell me."

I sighed. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do."

I sighed. He wasn't going to let this go.

"No, I'm not."

"What?" Now we were both sitting bolt upright in bed, and I clutched his arm. "Did you just hear me?"

"Yes. What the fuck is going on?"

His reaction shook me even more - Eric hardly ever cursed. "What did you just hear? Tell me exactly."

"I just heard you say 'He's not going to let this go.'"

"Damn, that's right. Oh crap, does this mean I can hear you and you can hear me?"

"I'm not sure. Shall we try it again?"

"Maybe we'd better. But why? We've never heard each other before."

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out presently. Now, I'm going to think at you, see if you can tell me what I'm thinking."

"_If she can hear me, we can't tell anyone."_

"You said we couldn't tell anyone if I could hear you."

"That's right. Now you think something at me."

"_Does this mean I'm in danger?"_

"Not from me, lover. But we must keep it to ourselves. Now, let's see if we can hold a conversation. You first."

Of course, my mind went blank as soon as I was told to pick a topic. At last I thought "_is this like when you and Pam talk to each other?"_

And back it came, with a side-dish of surprise through the bond. "_You knew about that?"_

"_Well, duh, it was pretty obvious. There were times you stared at each other, and I just _knew_ you were communicating somehow."_

"_Yes, Pam and I can communicate if we're in the same room. All makers can communicate with their children over short distances; Stan can do so at a much greater range, but I don't know anyone else who can."_

"_I'm not your child."_

"_No, but we are bonded."_

"_We were bonded before."_

"_True." _I felt a mental disconnect and he was back in his own head.

Now he spoke out loud. "The only difference I can think of is that I glamored you as we bonded. Somehow that's connected us mentally as well as emotionally."

"But I'm sure other vampires must have done that in the past - glamored the humans they bonded with. What's so different this time?"

"I think that might be it - humans. You're not fully human and you're a telepath. Maybe that makes you more sensitive. Now, let me think about this for a moment." I sat quietly (but not particularly patiently) as he considered the events of the last few minutes. I had my own line of thought to pursue. What was the common factor between all the times I'd heard vampire thoughts? If there even was one.

I ran over each occasion in my head, thinking about stuff that had happened before, or about the same time. Henrik ... Rhodes ... my strongest memory of Rhodes was the bombing of course, but that had been _after_ I'd heard Henrik. Next strongest memory, being forced to bond with Eric. I shuddered at the memory of Andre watching as I'd reluctantly taken Eric's blood.

Gradually a thought began to form in my mind. "Eric?"

"What?" There was definite impatience in his tone at being interrupted.

"You remember when I had the transfusion, after the maenad attack?"

He arched an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"I know I asked for human blood, but did I drink from any of the vampires?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Just bear with me. Did any of you give me blood?"

He grinned. "I offered, but Bill wouldn't let me. He gave you some, though - quite a lot as I recall. Why?"

Bastard. He would do anything to get his blood inside me. I put my indignation on one side for the moment - I'd be re-visiting it, though - you could bet on it. "I was just thinking. All the times I've heard vampires in the past, it's been just after I've taken a good dose of blood. Do you think that could have anything to do with this?"

He looked thoughtful. "It's possible. But you've fed from me often enough in the past and it's never happened."

"So maybe it's a combination of all those things -, glamoring me, renewing the bond with quite a lot of your blood and me being a telepath. It's weird, I know, but I can't think of anything else."

"Maybe you're right, lover. I can't think of anything else that would explain it. But, what about the other occasion - you started to tell me you saw something once. Does that fit the pattern?"

Damn, I'd hoped he'd forgotten about that. No such luck. Curse you, vampire memory...

"Uh, yes it does. It was the first time Bill and I ... the first time we ..." I didn't want to complete the sentence. I hated to think back to the time I gave Bill my virginity and my trust and he trampled it into the dust, along with my heart. Eric hated it too - he stiffened as I mentioned Bill's name. I squeezed his hand and he relaxed. Bill was in the past, and was going to stay there.

Eric sighed and said, "you mean, the first time you had sex?"

I nodded, grateful that I didn't have to say it out loud. "Yeah. I bit him and got all these weird visions of things, vampires, crawling out of the earth and hunting. It was freaky and it never happened again. I'd forgotten about it, sorry."

He waved it aside. "It doesn't matter now. Except that it does seem to strengthen your theory. I think we'll have to assume that's what's happened, until we find another explanation."

"So, where does this leave us?"

He smiled. "It leaves us with a potentially useful skill, but we're going to need to test it, find out its range."

"It might not last."

"True; but there may be ways to ... strengthen the connection. We clearly need to experiment." He grinned wickedly and pulled me back down into the bed, making it quite clear what sort of experiment he had in mind. "But we should definitely practise using it. We can't afford to blurt out a verbal reply to a mental comment. That could be very dangerous."

"fuck." He had a point.

"Thank you. That sounds delightful..."

* * *

Ten nights later, I was on a plane with Eric and his entourage. He'd brought every vampire in Area 5, including the rat-fink Bill Compton. I'd wanted to leave him behind, but Eric said it would be too suspicious. He promised he wouldn't let him be a nuisance on the flight; he'd make sure he was seated well away from us. Freyda had sent her plane for us, but I'd hoped it would be a daytime trip. I'd had dreams of arranging for Bill's coffin to accidentally get loaded onto a non-stop flight for Hong Kong ...

Although Eric and I were seated together, we didn't speak or touch on the journey. Eric wanted to foster the impression that we were on the outs, and that he'd had to force me into coming. I didn't mind playing the part, as the bond told me something very different and our new mental link had been humming as we boarded, although it was quiet at the moment.

Once we'd got over the initial shock, Eric seemed excited at this new game, and we'd spent a lot of time practising to increase the range and the strength. I'd been worried at first that he'd freak at my seeing inside his head, but it didn't seem to work like that; it was more like a phone connection. I couldn't 'hear' what was happening with him unless he picked up, and he said it was the same from his end.

He'd let me have the window seat and I gazed out into the blackness, only broken by occasional splashes of light as we passed over towns and cities. I didn't want to think too much about the wedding we were headed to, so instead I focussed on the wedding I'd just been to.

Jason and Michele's wedding had been a pleasantly incident-free occasion. Michele had looked lovely and Jason had looked happy; my bridesmaid's dress had suited me for once (I had half a closet full of unwearable puffed-sleeve, sashed monstrosities from previous weddings, in colors ranging from apple green to baby pink); my maple syrup and apple glazed ribs were very popular at the bring and share wedding breakfast; Casey and Sam were practically joined at the hip; and best of all, no-one had threatened anyone with having their hands broken. So different from Jason's last wedding.

The happy couple had both managed to get some time off work, Michele from the auto dealership and Jason from the roadcrew, and they'd gone to New Orleans for two weeks. I knew by the time they got back, whatever was going to happen would have happened, and there was nothing I could do about it. So I'd put my best happy face on, and had smiled and eaten and danced, and had as good a time as I could without Eric being there.

He'd been very busy at Fangtasia, but he'd called or texted me every night he hadn't been able to come over - our link wouldn't reach as far as Shreveport - and I'd felt his satisfaction when he told me that Joe had been granted permission for his takeover. This was really our best option - it covered all our bases. If we'd had to go down the divorce-me-marry-Freyda-divorce-Freyda-marry-me route, we'd still have had some very pissed-off vampires to deal with, and we'd have had to relocate, no question. As it was, Joe planned to take down Freyda and Felipe at the same time, which would deal with both our main problems.

I didn't ask for all the details but I knew that we were arriving on the Tuesday night, most of the visitors intended to arrive on Thursday night and the wedding was scheduled for Saturday. The attack would take place on Friday night. Although Eric had supplied the Texas vamps with a lot of information, including floor plans and passwords, they wanted a little time to do some recon first.

Another reason I didn't want to know too much about the plans was that I'd been getting a little schizophrenic, with two completely separate agendas going on. There was the face we presented to the world and there was what was going on behind the scenes.

For example, although privately he had every intention of coming back to Shreveport, Eric had put his beloved Fangtasia up for sale. Since the rival vampire club had closed down the customers had all come back, the bar was flourishing and there had been quite a lot of interest in the vampire community. I was surprised when Eric told me Sandy Sechrest had been in touch about it on behalf of creepy Felipe, and even more surprised when he'd said he would probably sell to him.

I would have thought the last person he wanted getting his hands on Fangtasia was Felipe, and I'd said as much.

He'd laughed. "Don't worry, lover, he won't have it while I walk the earth. The advantage of selling to him is that he's reassured that I'm serious about the alliance with Oklahoma - he knows I'd never let Fangtasia go if I was still in Louisiana - so he'll ease up on the threats. I'll draw out the negotiations until after the wedding, and when I kill him, the deal will fall through. It would complicate matters if I sold to another vampire and then demanded it back after the coup. I prefer to keep things simple when possible - the situation will be complicated enough as it is, with so many kingdoms changing hands."

"Will you be involved in that?"

"Not if I can help it - I'll be satisfied once Freyda and Felipe are dead and I can come back and re-open Fangtasia. We're closing while I'm away. The fake sale is a good opportunity to get the cleaning crews in and for the staff to take their vacation time and we won't lose revenue."

"What happens to it if we lose?" I didn't like to think it, much less say it, but it had to be considered.

"If we lose, then Fangtasia will be the least of our worries. As I said, Pam will take you to Mississippi and after that ..." he shrugged. "I don't know where she'll go. She'll probably want to travel again once she's seen you safe with Russell."

Although Pam was coming to the wedding, she had already made it clear she wouldn't be staying in Oklahoma. She didn't want to be around Freyda long term, and Eric had agreed. And if her maker died, I could imagine she'd want to try somewhere new to help come to terms with her loss.

How I was going to come to terms with mine, was a whole other ball game ...

I'd probably be glad of a change of air too - the old farmhouse would be full of way too many memories. I wondered if I'd ever see it again and thought of the rows of packing cartons, filled, labelled and waiting discreetly in the attic space on the top floor. I'd packed up all the clothes and books and mementos I might want to have sent on to me if I had to leave. I knew if I went to Jackson I could always contact Sam or Tara and ask them to forward things to me. As my gran used to say, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. As long as I could remember who I'd told what.

Just then Amelia leaned forward from the seat behind mine and nudged my shoulder. "Is there any drinks service on this flight?"

"Only True Blood, I think." We were the only two humans on board, and Freyda clearly didn't think it necessary to cater to our comfort. I was glad of Amelia's company; I'd contacted her about the Vlakas wards, and she'd apologised for the whole Alcide thing and she'd been almost pathetically eager to help. She'd discovered that, unlike most wards, they were intended to keep someone or something _in_ a given space, rather than out of it. But they were real specific - usually tied to one person or object. It sounded potentially ominous - who or what was Freyda planning on using them on? Ames hadn't been able to figure out why they were called 'stupid' wards but promised to keep trying.

In spite of that having kind of made up, I didn't feel I could trust her fully, which had given me a dilemma. I really wanted her to come to Oklahoma with me - I hated the thought of being the only member of the Louisiana party who was conscious during the day - but didn't dare risk it. She had a mouth as big as the Mississippi at times, and Eric would not be happy about me telling her anything - I hadn't told her the wards query was connected to him. She was _not _his favorite person, partly because of the Alcide thing but mostly because she had encouraged and helped me dissolve our bond.

He resented the hell out of that, and at first he was adamant that she was not to be invited, but he could feel how unhappy I was, and he really didn't like the idea of my being alone in the palace either. So we were at a stalemate for a few days, until Eric finally came up with a solution. He offered to apply his new mental block skills to her too, and although she wasn't happy she knew how important this was to me and agreed as the price of her full acceptance back into our favor.

She'd met us at the airport, and Eric had taken us both into a private lounge and glamored her so she couldn't reveal anything she was told. Admittedly he wasn't above taking a little revenge while she was under, ordering her to act like a chicken, and then pretend to ride a broomstick while cackling evilly, but I'd stopped him before his imagination really got to work. Who knew where that could have led?

Now she said, "well, there'd damn well better be room service at this palace," and sat back in a huff.

I was pretty certain that, from what Eric had told me, there would be everything you could possibly want in the palace, and when we got to the airport the six gleaming limos waiting on the tarmac seemed to confirm this - Freyda was pulling out all the stops to impress us with her wealth and power.

Eric, Amelia and I travelled in the first car, but it was a pretty silent journey. Eric had warned us that everywhere would be bugged, including all the cars, so there was no conversation beyond him pointing out occasional sights of interest.

In keeping with my role as reluctant guest, I'd just huffed, or shrugged, and Amelia didn't say a thing. At last we rolled up a sweeping semi-circular drive and I saw the floodlit palace, with a whole army of uniformed servants waiting on the steps.

They descended on the car, and Eric squeezed my hand just before the car door was opened. I put my best game face on and followed him out of the limo.

Showtime.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Hi, I'm back. Had a great vacation, well rested, raring to get on with the story. 'Nuff said, let's do this.**

**EPOV**

_Stay behind me._

My message to Sookie as I left the vehicle wasn't acknowledged out loud, but the fact that she slipped back a pace as we mounted the steps told me she'd heard and understood me. I had briefed Pam earlier to ensure that Bill would be in the last car in the convoy and would be allowed nowhere near Sookie. She must have spoken to the others, because both girls were instantly surrounded by my vampires and Bill was gently manoeuvred towards the back of the group.

Freyda was waiting for me at the top of the steps, looking regal in deep green silk, her hair swept up with sparkling emerald clips. She had called me every night since I left, but I had kept the conversations as brief as possible, pleading the pressure of work as I tied up all the loose ends before leaving Louisiana. She had wanted to discuss all the wedding arrangements, but beyond settling the date and time of the ceremony I had told her to make all the decisions herself. I found it almost impossible to disguise my indifference, but managed to summon up the appearance of enthusiasm. After my initial reluctance, she was happy to believe that my visit to her had changed my mind.

I stopped one step below her and she extended her hand, smiling. I bowed over it, hearing the faint rustle as my people followed my example, except for Sookie who remained stubbornly vertical. Then I straightened and looked Freyda in the eye.

"Eric. At last. Welcome to my palace and your new home."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. May I introduce those members of my retinue that you haven't met before?"

She nodded and turned to acknowledge my followers' bows as I named each of them. Naturally, her gaze passed over Compton without pausing and when I came to Sookie, looking sulky in the midst of the group, her expression didn't alter at all but I noticed that her pupils dilated slightly.

She spoke clearly, her words intended to reach the press and members of the public who had stopped to watch the impressive motorcade arrive. "You are all as welcome as my consort-to-be. I know you've given up your homes and livelihoods to follow your Sheriff here, and I appreciate your loyalty, as I'm sure he does. I hope your time here will be a long and pleasant one. My people will do everything in their power to help you settle in and find roles for yourselves as you spread out across Oklahoma. There are many areas where vampires are few and far between, and a lot of wonderful opportunities to set up businesses in new locations. For example, I have just opened a new casino in Tulsa and I'm sure we can find places for anyone who would like to join the team there."

My vampires looked at one another silently and then glanced at me for a lead. I had told them they would function as my inner circle in one capacity or another for as long as we were here, but it was apparent from Freyda's words that she was planning to detach them from me as soon as possible and disperse them across her kingdom.

Then an oily voice spoke up from the back. "Your Majesty is most kind. I think I speak for all of us when I say we are honoured to be here and look forward to enjoying your hospitality ..." Bill broke off with an angry hiss as Maxwell Lee started digging in the bag holding his laptop, 'accidentally' catching Bill square in the back with it and making him stagger. He turned round, annoyed at having his speech interrupted, but Maxwell Lee raised an eyebrow and looked at him steadily, and the younger vampire backed down. Freyda ignored the minor incident, smiling graciously for the flashing cameras. She could afford to be gracious - she had gained everything she wanted. Or so she thought.

She turned and led us into the palace, past her grey-uniformed guards lining the steps, until everyone was inside and the doors were closed. Then she turned and said, "the servants will distribute security passes and show your people to their quarters. They'll be housed in the Annexe for the time being, and your humans ..." she paused for a moment. "We're very short of space with all the visitors we're expecting, but I've had two small rooms prepared for them."

"That was thoughtful of you. How did you guess that Sookie would change her mind about coming? She only made her final decision yesterday, and Amelia only agreed to accompany her this afternoon."

Freyda froze for a second and then the graciousness returned. "I took a chance. I have every faith in your powers of persuasion, and I was sure she wouldn't want to be here alone during the day so I guessed she'd bring a friend. And I was right, wasn't I?"

I bowed ironically. "As ever." This was clear evidence to me that Compton had been in touch with her recently. "And one single room will be all that we need. Sookie will share my quarters." They were certainly big enough ...

"But they're not set up to accommodate a human."

"I imagine that can be rectified - it's only for a few days, after all. And if you're as short of space as you say, I imagine freeing up Sookie's room will only be helpful."

Although I could feel faint amusement coming from my lover as I outmanoeuvred Freyda, I was grateful for the control she had over her expression. She was extraordinarily (and sometimes inconveniently) good at hiding what she was really thinking, and I hoped she could maintain her fake reluctance for the next few days. She looked wonderfully petulant at the moment - just what I wanted.

Freyda looked doubtful, but I had known this would be an issue, and had already decided I was not going to give way. This was not only because I wanted Sookie safe, but because Freyda would ultimately appreciate my standing up to her. All vampires respected strength, and she would be pleased to see that she had paid for someone who was not afraid to challenge her - a good second was not simply a doormat.

I could almost see her calculating her response. I knew she would be reluctant to be too heavy-handed in front of my people. She was aware that many of them were unhappy about the alliance, and she would need to make a good impression if they were to accept her rule. After all, introducing twenty new vampires into her kingdom, whose loyalty was very firmly behind someone else, could be either a blessing or a curse.

She finally decided it was in her best interests to be accommodating at the moment.

"Very well. Who is the other, anyway?" She glanced at Amelia, who was looking around her at the marble pillars and the gilding. Sookie didn't take her eyes off me, although her expression was not friendly.

There was no possibility that Freyda didn't know exactly who the witch was, but I played the game. "Her name's Amelia Broadway, and she's a friend of Sookie's, come for the wedding as you guessed. They'll both be returning to Louisiana on Sunday."

Sookie muttered, "can't come soon enough for me." Freyda's expression didn't so much as flicker, but I knew she was planning on keeping Sookie for a lot longer than that. All the more reason for her to be flexible now - once I had signed on the dotted line she believed she could control me _and _my telepath. It would be a pleasure to disabuse her of that notion ...

"Of course. Security will need her picture if she's to stay here." I had emailed across the names and photographs of everyone else in my retinue several days earlier, so that their security passes would be ready for them. Freyda continued. "Her room is in the West Wing."

Interesting. I knew from my previous visit that the West Wing of the mansion was occupied almost exclusively by Freyda's staff. With my own people housed in a separate building behind the main palace and the private royal apartments in the East Wing, Sookie and Amelia would have been completely cut off from everyone they knew, including me, had they been based there. Not satisfactory. I felt I was unlikely to get a change of room for Amelia, but knew she had ways of protecting herself if necessary. Having gained my point, I was not going to jeopardise my victory by fighting and losing on another front.

Now Freyda turned towards the grand staircase, saying, "tell your people to go with Bruno - he'll attend to everything." Then she vanished at vampire speed, clearly expecting me to follow her. However, I lingered to see that my followers were properly cared for. Freyda's major-domo stepped forward and said, "If your retinue will follow me, sir, I will show them to their quarters. I have their security passes here, and the bags from the airplane have already been taken to the Annexe."

My followers were looking a little twitchy at being separated from me so soon, but I endorsed Freyda's arrangements and instructed them to meet me here in the entrance hall in one hour. Amelia looked faintly anxious, but Sookie whispered to her and she nodded and followed the servant who approached her. My people began to move away, eagerly led by Compton, who pushed his way to the fore. That is, until he reached Pam, who stepped in front of him at the last minute, her stiletto heel burying itself deep in his instep. I smiled and left them to it, following Freyda at human speed with Sookie.

I didn't hurry, pointing out interesting paintings and features as I mounted the stairs to the top floor, even though I hated the place. I was clearly not alone in this; Sookie mind-spoke me, "_Jeez, why would anyone want to live in a place like this? Seriously, it would give me a rash_."

I had to agree. Personally I'd have preferred to sleep in the back of my Corvette if it had been an option.

Freyda was waiting impatiently outside the suite I had stayed in two weeks earlier. She glanced at Sookie, and said, "you needn't have waited - the staff would have brought her."

"I wanted to show her some of the artwork myself."

"Oh, very well." She looked mildly annoyed but nodded to the footman and he opened the door for us. She entered and sat down on one of the couches and I sent Sookie through to the daychamber to start unpacking her bags which were already waiting for us. Staying in character, Sookie looked rebellious but did as she was told, almost - but not quite - slamming the door behind her as she left.

It was not entirely an act; she was not happy that Freyda was apparently intent on a tête-à-tête in my suite, and I could feel her concern. I picked up a mental message asking me to be careful and I acknowledged it, at the same time warning her to be discreet because of the surveillance. And that reminded me … I sent Sookie another message, telling her what I planned to do, then spoke to the Queen.

"Freyda, I recall you said I can make any alterations I choose to this suite. Did you mean it?"

"Certainly. It's yours for as long as you are here - you can do anything you like with it."

"Excellent. There are one or two pieces here that offend my eye."

"Then I'll have them removed."

"No, please don't bother. I'll take care of it myself."

She watched in puzzlement as I walked past the couch where she sat, and studied a pair of ornate brass wall-sconces. "I'm afraid I don't like these at all." I smiled apologetically at her, and then her mouth fell open as I ripped both fittings from the wall, leaving a gaping hole in the plaster.

"What are you doing? You're ..."

I ignored her. "And this isn't to my taste, either. Much too fussy." I picked up the ivory house phone from the end-table and crushed the handset, dropping the pieces to the carpet. Next an original oil-painting caught my eye. I heard her intake of breath as I crossed the room and paused before it, studying it thoughtfully.

"Eric, please, that's a Caravaggio!"

I said, "I know. I met him once and disliked him intensely. He was a drunken thug. No, it's got to go." I ignored Freyda's shriek of outrage as I shredded the giant canvas and moved on at vampire speed to destroy selected items throughout the entire room.

I could feel Sookie's amusement through the bond as I worked and by the time I paused before the large antique mirror of Venetian glass, Freyda was quivering with fury. Her fangs were out, but so were mine, and she was quite unable to stop me; I was both faster and stronger than her. The look on her face told me she'd realised exactly what I was doing; We both knew I had systematically destroyed every object in the room which concealed a bug.

Now I looked at her sternly, and said, "I will _not _be spied upon."

She jumped as my fist shot out and shattered the mirror, which I knew hid a camera.

"I will _not_ be watched."

I dragged the device out, ignoring the shards of glass which gouged my wrists, and brought it over to the couch where I tossed it into her lap. I stood looking down at her and she shrank back slightly. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes." Her voice was a whisper but her eyes met mine steadily. I reluctantly acknowledged her courage. Her spine stiffened and her voice grew stronger as she continued, "but it's a perfectly normal precaution …"

"It's a pointless one when the person under surveillance knows they're being watched." Then I retracted my fangs and seated myself next to her, taking her hand. "Think about it - I didn't have to let you know I had found all your bugs. If I intended to deceive you I could just as easily have left them all in place and fooled you into thinking I was unaware of your … precautions. But if I am to be your consort and your second, you must trust me absolutely. If you do not, then our alliance can serve no purpose."

I let her consider this for a moment, then I said, "Now, must I go through the rest of my suite, or will you order all such devices disabled?"

She made up her mind. "I'll speak to my Head of Security."

"Tonight?"

"Tonight. But there was really no need for such a dramatic display - you could have spoken to me without destroying all these things."

"Yes, I could have, but I wanted to make my point. And I really _don't _like Caravaggio." I gave her my most charming smile, and reluctantly she smiled back.

"Oh, very well. But next time you want something, just ask."

"I will." Then I glanced at my watch. "Did you need to speak to me about anything special, or can it wait? I want to take a quick bath and get unpacked before I meet my staff."

"I thought your telepath was unpacking." I noted a reluctance to use Sookie's name. Freyda was disposed to be jealous of her, even though she thought she'd won the battle for my loyalty.

"Only her own things - she wouldn't have had time to deal with mine. After all, I have a lot more with me now that I'm here to stay." I smiled warmly and she relaxed as she remembered that she owned me now. But she was still looking for a way to take back the initiative, and it was obvious where she would go.

"Speaking of the telepath, have you divorced her yet?"

I had wanted to postpone this moment for as long as possible. Even though it wouldn't be for any length of time, the divorce would hurt Sookie and myself, both literally and figuratively.

I hoped that when the next few days were over, Sookie would consent to be my wife again, but this time voluntarily and in the full knowledge of what it involved. She had never really accepted our pledging, probably because I'd tricked her into it. I'd done so in order to protect her, but I had come to see that this might not have been the best move; for a long time it had only made her more resistant to me, and it continued to be a source of grievance to her. That was something I intended to put right. With our newly-established relationship I had every hope she would accept my suggestion. I already had plans in mind …

Meanwhile, I had to answer Freyda. "Not yet. I've asked Cataliades to draw up the deed of dissolution and to witness it, but he's been here in Oklahoma, so I decided to wait until we arrived."

She frowned. "I'll send him to you tonight."

"I'm afraid I'll be occupied for the rest of the night - I've promised to take my staff on a tour of the palace and see them settled in."

"Can't your child do that?"

"She doesn't know it any better than they do. No, I said I'd do it, and I always keep my promises. You should know that."

She nodded. "Then I expect it to be done at first dark tomorrow. I'll be waiting for the deed - don't leave it any later."

"I'd rather ..."

"Tomorrow night. Either the deed is in my hand within an hour of first dark or I will insist on witnessing it myself." Damn her. She knew I would want to spare Sookie that, and I seethed inwardly as I nodded my agreement. There was nothing else I could do; I had to give her what she demanded.

Freyda must have sensed my mood, and clearly decided she had yanked the invisible chain around my neck enough for one night. She stood and said, "then I'll leave you in peace. If you want servants, just ring the bell over there - oh wait, you've ripped it from the wall. What a pity." She glanced at the wreckage that surrounded her and smiled sweetly as she moved toward the door. I held it open for her as she passed through.

"I'll use the bell in the daychamber. Sookie will need someone to show her where Amelia's room is - she'll want to spend time with her while I'm with my staff."

Freyda arched an elegantly-shaped eyebrow. "Are you sure you trust her to go wandering around the palace without you? What if she gets into trouble? Her reputation suggests that she might well do so."

Now was my chance to gain a little revenge for her forcing the divorce on us. It would also give her food for thought. "Oh that won't be a problem. If she feels like killing anyone, I'll know immediately through our blood-bond. I may not be in time to prevent the deaths, but at least I'll know where to look for the bodies."

Her eyes narrowed. "Your blood-bond?"

I smiled politely. "Oh yes. The divorce won't affect that." I bowed. "Goodnight, your Majesty." I caught a glimpse of her expression as I closed the door, and knew that she would be having words with dear Bill before the night was out …

* * *

**SPOV**

Amelia's room was small. _Very _small. Just about enough room for a bed and a dresser, not even a private bathroom. No window, of course. I looked round in dismay, and resolved to ask Eric if she could move in with us - we had plenty of rooms, they were all sound-proofed and I wouldn't have to cross half the state to reach her. But before I could suggest it, Amelia shrugged and said, "You should have seen the other one they offered me. This one's like the Ritz-Carlton compared to that."

"There's a smaller one? ?"

"Yup. I think this was the one meant for you. They gave me the choice but in the other one you had to stand on the bed to open the door. What's your room like?"

"Uh ... it's a bit bigger than this one. I'm sharing with Eric."

"So, best of everything?" She looked at me accusingly and I nodded guiltily. I felt really bad for having dragged her into this situation in the first place and now she was sleeping in a closet.

"Pretty much. He's supposed to be the new consort, you know? Like second to the Queen? So naturally ..." I broke off as she laughed.

"No problem, sister, I was just messing with your head. Seriously, I don't care - it's not like I'm here for a holiday. Now, let's get out and take a look at this place while we're here. It's weird - more like a museum than a home."

"Oh, hush." We had to be discreet - there wasn't the remotest chance that we weren't bugged - but she was right. There were statues and works of art everywhere, and our feet echoed on the marble floors as we began to look round. After Freyda left, Eric had inspected my security pass and then called a servant and insisted it was immediately upgraded to AAA, together with Amelia's. It seemed that, on top of five-star accommodation, there were other advantages to being 'the chosen of the Queen' as he called it. The servant seemed reluctant, but Eric fanged up and by the time I'd finished unpacking, the new ones had arrived by breathless messenger.

He'd sent me off to Amelia with a strong mental warning to stay in touch with him and relay anything interesting I saw or heard. I kept my eyes peeled but the West Wing, where we started, didn't seem very out of the ordinary. Apart from the fancy décor, it was mostly bedrooms on some floors and offices on others.

We passed a number of humans, and I lowered my shields each time to see what I could get. They were mostly pets, but there were some admin staff, usually fairly low-level from what I could pick up. They were usually in a hurry, and often glamored_._ This did not feel like a good place to be human. One guy smiled a little as we passed, and when I read him I could see the same sort of glamor that Eric had done on Amelia - this must be Ramon! I stopped him and asked if he could direct us to the state apartments, and he politely offered to show us the quickest route. I could tell he was almost desperate to help us, as he hoped we'd put in a good word for him with Eric.

As we walked through the hallways he pointed out one or two places we hadn't seen yet, and I didn't get the faintest trace of a sneer from him. This was a pleasant change - Eric's last two day guys hadn't approved of our relationship, and Bobby could barely bring himself to look at me. When we parted I smiled at him and said, "thank you. I'll be sure to tell Eric how helpful you've been." His answering smile lit his whole face up, and he gave a little bow and then walked away with a spring in his step.

The state rooms, where public events were held, were all in the main block and were much more what I expected from a palace. There was a massive ballroom with a dark blue floor and a curtained-off stage at one end. The dining-room held a long, polished table that looked like it could seat a hundred people. There were uniformed staff in there, mostly human, dusting all the chairs and lowering a giant chandelier so they could wash the crystals. It was all systems go for the royal wedding, and no-one paid us very much attention apart from a glance at the passes which hung round our necks on lanyards. Once they'd checked that we were allowed to be there, they were way too busy to waste time on random visitors.

The audience room was on the second floor, and when we peeped in the big double doors it looked like this was where the wedding was going to be held. There was a raised dais with a throne, and a long red carpet was being laid up the middle of the room, until it formed a T with another, shorter strip just below the dais. A fancy desk covered with scrollwork was standing at the junction of the two pieces, and I guessed this was where the ceremony would be held. There were stacks of gilt chairs at the sides of the room, ready to placed in time for Saturday night. I didn't linger in here; I didn't like to think too far ahead just at the moment.

Amelia picked up on my feelings and tugged at my arm. "C'mon, let's check out the dungeons!"

She meant the levels below ground. "Don't you want to see the private apartments? They're even fancier than here."

She shook her head. "Nuh-uh. How would you feel if you opened a door and the Queen was in there feeding or something? Can you imagine the embarrassment? To say nothing of the pain?"

"She'd never hurt us - at least, not before the wedding. She needs to keep Eric sweet."

"D'you really wanna risk it?"

"Maybe you're right. Okay, let's check out downstairs."

Below ground there were a lot more guards, and our passes were carefully checked whenever we went through a door or round a corner. Every time, the photographs were studied and compared with our faces, and we were questioned as to why we were there. We tried a number of different explanations, and found the most successful was "we're with the Louisiana party. The Queen's chosen said we could look around." Nearly everyone accepted that, grudgingly or otherwise, and eventually we started saying it before we were even stopped.

It got us through all sorts of doors, and we must have walked for miles underground. At one point we ran across Eric and the Louisiana Vamps. He was leading them out of a room we hadn't been in yet - we could hear shouts and the echoing sounds of combat through the open door, so we figured there was fighting of some sort going on.

Eric stopped and inspected the guard standing to the left of the door. He'd changed clothes, and was wearing an outfit I'd never seen before; camo trousers and jacket, with a black singlet underneath. I decided that uniform really suited him, particularly the singlet - it left a good deal of his chest on display. Hmm. If he was in a military mood, maybe later I could get him to play a little game of interrogate-the-prisoner. I was sure he had ways of making me talk…

However, currently I was still supposed to be in a huff with him, so we didn't stop. As we passed I picked up a message from him. _See if you can talk your way onto the next level down - it's the cell block._

_Okay. Nothing interesting so far. They're setting up for the wedding in the audience chamber, and I met Ramon, but that's about it._

_Stay vigilant, lover. _

The elevator needed a key and so we turned to the stairs. There was a Were guard at the top and we waved our AAA passes and pulled the "Queen's chosen" routine again. His mind said he didn't think there was much danger from two human females, and we looked as innocent as we possibly could, so he radio'd downstairs and got permission.

We were met at the foot of the stairs by another guard, another Were, and he searched us and asked us the same questions. We were hard put to it to explain why we wanted to see the cell-block, but Amelia pulled a great idea out of her hat. She said she was studying the penal system of Louisiana, and was interested to see how it might differ from Oklahoma. I remembered to keep my jaw from hitting the floor and nodded seriously as she started describing how the late Queen Sophie-Anne had done things. I couldn't imagine how she knew the sort of details that she clearly did, but I would ask her that later. Meanwhile, it was working on the big guy in front of us, and he not only allowed us into the cell block, he insisted on accompanying us.

Amelia was fantastic. She kept up a stream of conversation and intelligent questions, with just a hint of flirtation, while I just went along with it and nodded in what looked like appropriate places. The Were, who gave his name as Cal, was unbending more and more towards her, and I decided that if I hadn't already forgiven her for the whole Alcide debacle, this performance would have definitely got her into my good graces again. As I listened, I resolved to make Eric delete the photographs of her chicken impersonation that he'd taken back in the airport lounge in Shreveport. He'd planned on threatening to post them on some of the Wiccan forums if Amelia ever stepped out of line again, but I felt once I'd told him how helpful she'd been he would sacrifice them.

We saw most of the cell-block, and a grim place it was, but there was one area we weren't allowed in. "Sorry, that's maximum security. You need special clearance for that," said Cal, and he wouldn't budge no matter how prettily Amelia pouted. I nudged her when I felt him getting a little impatient, and she took the hint and backed off. No point getting him all suspicious. She asked him when he got off duty, and managed to look very disappointed when he said he'd only just come on shift. She said maybe she'd see him tomorrow some time, and he looked pretty pleased at the idea, but before she got to the point of twining a finger through his buttonhole I looked at my watch and said Eric was expecting us back upstairs.

Cal couldn't leave the cell block, but he used his key to open the elevator and activate the button for the private apartments before saying goodbye. Aware of possible surveillance, Amelia continued to wax lyrical about what she'd seen downstairs all the way up to the third floor and all along the hallway to Eric's suite where he was waiting for us.

Once inside I mentally asked him if he was sure we were not being overheard and when he nodded, I said, "Okay, Ames, you can stop now."

She heaved a sigh of relief and flopped into a squashy wingchair. "Thank God for that. I nearly ran out of steam."

"Where the hell did you learn all that about the Louisiana penal system?"

She waved a hand. "Oh, Octavia did a lot for Sophie-Anne, setting wards all through her palace. That included the cell block, and I went with her a few times. Of course, I made a lot of it up, but some of it was true." She sat up. "But speaking of wards, there's something I can tell you for definite."

"What?"

She looked seriously at Eric and me. "You know that maximum security section? That's where the Vlakas wards have been placed. And they're _real _strong."


End file.
